Lured to Vietnam: Rab identifies 6 recruiting agencies
On July 3, eleven Bangladeshi job-seekers returned from Vietnam. All of them had business visas.
They had been lured to Vietnam by some recruiting agencies which had promised the move would result in attractive jobs.
Once taken to Vietnam with the DN (Doanh Nghiep – Business) visa, Bangladeshi brokers there seized the passports of the eleven. Instead of the promised lucrative jobs, they were offered low-paid jobs with short-term contracts. Some of the Bangladeshis didn't even get that.
The job seekers saw their Tk 4-5 lakh investments go up in the air. While these eleven could at least make their way back, Nazmul Hasan, 26, of Cumilla, could not even do that. He died in Vietnam on April 3 without any treatment and was later buried at a Muslim colony in Ho Chi Minh City.
The Rapid Action Battalion unraveled what had happened after arresting three directors of two recruiting agencies from the capital's Paltan area on Wednesday.
The arrestees are -- Jamal Uddin alias Sohag, 34, Kamal Hossain, 39, and Jamal Hossain, 37.
Rab also seized 254 passports from these two recruiting agencies, Lt Col Rakibul Hasan, commanding officer (CO) of Rab-3, told a press briefing yesterday.
The law enforcers further identified six recruiting agencies in Dhaka which were involved in illegally sending people to Vietnam. Those are -- Mash Career Service, JK Overseas Limited, Advent Overseas Limited, Sandhani Overseas Limited, and Al Noman Human Resource Limited.
After interrogating the arrestees, Rab got the names of eight Bangladeshi brokers in Vietnam engaged in illegal activities. They are -- Abdul Jabbar, Mostafa, Golam Azam Sumon, Kalpana, Azmeer, Milon, Shovon and Atik.
Meanwhile, Rab said 27 more Bangladeshi job-seekers are still passing uncertain days in Vietnam.
During primary interrogation, the arrestees said that the Bangladeshi brokers informed them that there was an opportunity to work in Vietnam as an entrepreneur.
They charged Tk 4-5 lakh from a job seeker and promised jobs with monthly salaries between Tk 40,000-50,000 in different companies, especially in mobile phone companies.
Once an agreement was reached between the broker and job-seeker agreed, the brokers would take the passport and procure an offer letter from Bangladeshi brokers in Vietnam.
The DN visa is issued to foreigners who come to work with companies in Vietnam. The duration of a DN visa is no longer than 12 months.
Rab said the job seekers were also told to take USD2,000 while entering Vietnam on the DN visa.
"Nine out of 11 Vietnam returnees managed the BMET [Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training emigration clearance card] card as entrepreneurs. There was no information about the two other cards in BMET registration," the Rab CO said adding that they are enquiring into the matter.
The Rab official said the Bangladeshi brokers seized the job seekers' passports at the airport in Vietnam.
He added that the JK Overseas Limited sent 14 job seekers on DN visas to Vietnam in November last year who are yet to get any jobs.
When Nazmul Hasan died in Vietnam on April 3, JK Overseas which declined to provide any help to his relatives in Bangladesh.
Besides, "Mash Career Service" does not have any recruiting license.
BMET Director General Shamsul Alam, said they called the owners of the six recruiting agencies and told them that they must bear the expenses of the returnees and give compensation if the contracts get violated.
He said they have locked license activities of the six recruiting agencies and also stopped giving their security money.
In a press release on Monday, the foreign ministry said, Vietnam is not a country where much work opportunities are available for prospective foreign workers. Brokers traffic Bangladeshi workers there with the hope of landing them in prosperous countries such as Australia, New Zealand and other parts of South-east Asia.
The BMET DG there is no MOU with Vietnam, although sending people to the country is nothing new. At least 1,275 people went to Vietnam in such a way since 2007. The Covid-19 may worsen the situation, he added.
Asked about the BMET card, he said, "You should ask the 11 Vietnam returnees why they went to Vietnam on DN visa and what the promises in the contract papers were. If they go for job, why did they take BMET cards as entrepreneurs?"
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