Form judicial committee on worker syndicate, B'deshi tells his govt

Summary

• The Bangladeshi businessperson who lodged a police report against a syndicate exploiting his countrymen in the Malaysian labour market urges his government to form a Judicial Investigation Committee to probe his complaint.

• This comes after the Bangladeshi police decided not to pursue the case, citing a lack of evidence.

• Altab Khan points out that the case must be probed in the interest of Bangladeshi nationals and businesspeople affected due to the syndicate.

The Bangladeshi businessperson who lodged a police report against a syndicate exploiting its nationals in the Malaysian labour market urged his government to establish a Judicial Investigation Committee to probe his complaint.

This comes after a Bangladeshi news agency reported that the country’s police decided not to pursue the case involving prominent Bangladeshi politicians, due to a lack of evidence.

“As the suspects involve ministers, MPs, secretaries, those holding millions in assets and an organised human trafficking ring, a Judicial Investigation Committee is needed for this case.

“This is in the interest of the 480,000 poor workers who went abroad through this syndicate and the 90 percent of businesspeople who were harmed and unable to work due to this syndicate.

“It is necessary for the court to submit an investigative report through a high-level investigation commission,” Altab Khan told Malaysiakini.

According to the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1956 in Bangladeshi law, the government is empowered to establish a judicial investigation committee to investigate matters of public interest.

The committee, according to Section 4 of the Act, would have powers equivalent to a civil court, with the authority to summon individuals and receive evidence on affidavits, among others.

Yesterday, Bangladeshi news agency The Business Standard reported that the police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) could not find evidence to support the allegations made about the syndicate.

CID official Md Russel of the Human Trafficking Unit, who investigated the case, said he submitted the final report to the court on July 15.

“We filed the report because no evidence could be established,” he stated, declining to comment further.

The decision could lead to the release of three former lawmakers of Bangladesh’s Awami League and the family members of former finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal and former expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment minister Imran Ahmed, who were allegedly linked to the syndicate.

The decision comes on the heels of a Malaysiakini article on July 31, where it was reported that the Bangladeshi government had agreed not to pursue the case after a request from the Malaysian government.

However, The Business Standard reported that Altab had applied to the court to file a no-confidence petition against the decision.

Ample evidence

On that note, Altab urged the government to take action against the CID officers involved in the investigation for exonerating the accused.

He pointed out that one syndicate member, driven by conscience, had filed a writ petition on the matter in the Bangladeshi High Court, which is now pending.

Altab added that the man even provided information to the court on the millions collected via the human trafficking ring.

“Plus, various leading newspapers at home and abroad have provided investigative reports against this syndicate.

“I request that, as far as possible, the journalists who wrote these investigative reports be interrogated as witnesses,” he said.

Graft case ongoing

In addition, Altan pointed out that the Bangladeshi Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is still investigating several individuals implicated in the syndicate.

“The ACC has filed a case against 36 people, including 12 members of this syndicate, after finding evidence of them illegally acquiring wealth by extorting money from migrant workers through this illegal syndicate of 100 human traffickers. Cases against others are ongoing.

“The CID’s Financial Crime branch has also initiated a permanent suo motu investigation (probe done on an agency’s own accord) into this ring, which is currently in progress.

“Hundreds of victimised agencies have provided written information against the defendants. For the sake of a fair investigation, I request that the aforementioned evidence and statements be accepted,” he added.

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