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Published : 08 Jun 2026, 08:04 PM
The government has suspended three recruiting agencies’ licences over claims that Bangladeshi workers sent to Russia for jobs were later drawn into the Ukraine conflict.
On Monday, Expatriates’ Welfare State Minister Nurul Islam said legal action against the agencies is also under way.
Responding to a supplementary question from Mymensingh-6 lawmaker Kamrul Hasan in parliament, he said: “Thirty workers were taken to Russia on the promise of jobs and later involved in the conflict. Their families informed us. We immediately suspended the licences of three recruiting agencies. Legal proceedings against them are ongoing.”
However, he noted that many Bangladeshis linked to the Russia-Ukraine conflict did not travel directly from Bangladesh.
“In the case of Russia-Ukraine, some Bangladeshis are getting involved in the conflict, but they are not going directly from Bangladesh. In reality, they are going through third countries. In such cases, we have limited scope to act,” he said.
In response to a written question on behalf of Expatriates’ Welfare Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury, the state minister said the government is working to reopen Malaysia’s labour market for Bangladeshi workers.
He said Malaysia remains Bangladesh’s second-largest overseas labour destination after Saudi Arabia.
A delegation from the ministry visited Malaysia between Apr 8 and Apr 11 this year, and efforts are under way to resume worker deployment soon.
From Jul 1 last year to May 31 this year, 933,815 Bangladeshis secured overseas employment.
The government has set a target of sending around 1.4 million workers abroad in the next fiscal year.
Minister Nurul said diplomatic talks are ongoing with Malaysia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to reopen or expand restricted labour markets.
Bangladesh has also signed memorandums of understanding with 18 countries on labour migration.
Responding to a question from Noakhali-6 lawmaker Abdul Hannan Masud, he said there is a growing trend of sending workers abroad using fake demand letters issued by shell companies.
“In many cases, Bangladeshis or foreign partners set up nominal companies and send workers through them. A company may have demand for 10 workers but brings in 100,” he said.
He added that while demand letters are verified by Bangladeshi embassies abroad, stricter monitoring and verification are needed.
On interest-free loans for migrant workers, he said workers currently receive collateral-free loans of up to Tk 300,000 at 8 percent interest, and the government is considering raising the limit to Tk 500,000.
However, there is no plan for an interest-free loan scheme.
