For months, a young Bangladeshi national has been raking in substantial profits by orchestrating a fraudulent work permit renewal syndicate in Malaysia, specifically targeting foreign workers.
To legitimize his operations, the 26-year-old entrepreneur went to great lengths, establishing a company that offered immigration services. He went as far as registering this company with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM).
However, his enterprise came crashing down when the Immigration Department apprehended him and his associates—a Bangladeshi and a Myanmar national—in Tampoi around 1:55 pm during Ops Serkap on Tuesday (Dec 19).
Baharuddin Tahir, the Johor Immigration director, revealed that during the arrest, the suspect claimed to be the chairman of a private company in Malaysia.
"We believe the suspect has been running a fake work permit renewal syndicate, where he has been making money off foreign workers since early this year here," stated Baharuddin during a press conference held at Johor Immigration Department headquarters at the Home Ministry Complex in Setia Tropika on Wednesday (Dec 20).
He added, "His main target is foreign workers facing challenges in renewing their work permits and the Workforce Recalibration Programme (RTK 2.0) work permit application."
According to Baharuddin, the syndicate's modus operandi involved collecting passports from their targeted group, charging a fee of RM6,500 per applicant under the RTK 2.0 program.
The investigation revealed that the suspect's company had been registered in May, and the purpose behind the registration was believed to make his illicit activities appear legal.
Apart from the arrests, the Immigration Department seized three Bangladesh passports, two Indonesia passports, a laptop, an external hard disk containing various RTK 2.0 application information, a mobile phone, and cash amounting to RM2,058.
Furthermore, the department confiscated a black luxury vehicle suspected to be owned by the main suspect. The suspects are currently under investigation for offenses under various sections of the Immigration Act 1959/63, Passport Act 166 (Act 150), and the Immigration Act 1959/63 (Act 155).
Baharuddin emphasized, "I would like to remind the public, especially foreign workers and their employers, that the Immigration Department has never appointed a third party or an agent to act on our behalf to get immigrants to register under the RTK 2.0 program."
