Bloomberg reported yesterday that Bangladeshi police had written to Putrajaya requesting the arrest and extradition of Bestinet Sdn Bhd founder Aminul Islam and an associate, Ruhul Amin, to facilitate investigations into alleged money laundering, extortion and trafficking of migrant workers.
Bestinet has a government contract to provide IT systems for the recruitment of foreign workers, known as the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS). Bangladeshi police have requested Putrajaya to temporarily halt its use.
In a statement, Aminul’s lawyer N Sivananthan said the Bloomberg article’s insinuation that his client or Bestinet might be involved in illegal practices was “completely unfounded”.
He denied any suggestion linking either Aminul or Bestinet with human trafficking or money laundering.
Sivananthan said neither Aminul nor Bestinet had engaged in recruitment processes or had direct interactions with recruitment agencies or potential hires in Bangladesh or elsewhere.
Bestinet’s role, he said, is strictly limited to providing implementation and technical support for FWCMS.
“Aminul has not, at any point, been involved in activities beyond the officially sanctioned scope of Bestinet’s technology services,” said Sivananthan, adding that Aminul only served as a shareholder at Bestinet.
“Bestinet’s technology is specifically developed to foster transparent and lawful recruitment practices, which are closely monitored and regulated by Malaysian and Bangladeshi government bodies.
“All recruitment decisions remain solely under the purview of the relevant government authorities in Malaysia and Bangladesh….and every aspect of the FWCMS platform operates in full compliance with the Malaysian home ministry and immigration department standards, as well as international guidelines.”
He added that FWCMS features secure measures, including biometric verification, health screening integration, digital tracking of documentation, and secure payment processing, which are designed to protect foreign workers and minimise the risk of exploitation.
Each worker’s documentation is subject to stringent verification, including authentication by the Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, ensuring compliance at multiple levels, Sivananthan said.
Bloomberg reported that according to a letter dated Oct 24 from Bangladesh’s Interpol branch to its Malaysian counterpart, Aminul and Ruhul were alleged to have played a vital role in a migrant worker recruitment system that “fraudulently extorted money from the victims” who were also exposed to physical and mental torture.
The contents of the letter were confirmed with Bangladesh’s Interpol branch and a senior Bangladeshi government official.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigated Bestinet in 2022 for alleged corruption and abuse of power involving the selection of 25 Bangladeshi agencies for migrant worker recruitment, with Aminul among those questioned.
In September, The Scoop reported that MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki said the investigation was classified as “no further action” after the anti-graft agency found no evidence of criminal activity.
Earlier this year, the home ministry said Bestinet’s contract to provide IT systems for the recruitment of foreign workers had been extended after the existing six-year agreement ended on May 31, 2024. However, home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail did not provide details about the duration of the contract.
The 2022 Auditor-General’s Report, which was released last year, revealed that there were no signed agreements between the government and Bestinet previously, which meant Putrajaya’s rights were unclear.
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