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23rd Jan 2026 Bloomberg World Exclusive on Alleged Criminal Syndicate Trafficking Bangladeshi Workers for Forced Labour in Malaysia | The Big Take: EVERYONE GETS A CUT, AND MIGRANT WORKERS PAY THE PRICE

23rd Jan 2026 Bloomberg World Exclusive on Alleged Criminal Syndicate Trafficking Bangladeshi Workers for Forced Labour in Malaysia | The

January 23, 2026 No Comments

Forced Labour

14 Jan 2026 PRESS RELEASE: UK High Court rules that forced labour and exploitation claims against Dyson (ATA Malaysia case) will be tried next year

— Solicitors Journal 14th Jan 2026: Limbu v Dyson: High Court orders liability trial for migrant workers’ exploitation claims 14

January 14, 2026 No Comments

Debt Bondage

FMT 26th Dec 2025: Bangladeshi workers obtain court injunction against mould manufacturer Mediceram (Ansell supplier) in Malaysia

FMT 26th Dec 2025: Bangladeshi workers obtain court injunction against mould manufacturer Mediceram (Ansell supplier) in Malaysia Sean Augustin The

December 26, 2025 No Comments

Malaysia

Human Rights Watch/ United Nations (UN) Nov 26th 2025: Rampant Labour Abuses Against Bangladeshi Migrant Workers in Malaysia (Alleged Criminal Syndicate Trafficking Bangladeshi Workers for Forced Labour in Malaysia/Mediceram)

November 26, 2025 1:38PM EST|Dispatches Human Rights Watch/United Nations (UN) Nov 26th 2025: Rampant Labour Abuses Against Bangladeshi Migrant Workers

November 27, 2025 No Comments

Malaysia

ABC News 23rd Nov 2025: 15 Bangladeshi migrant workers deported from Ansell-linked Malaysian glove factory Mediceram after abuse allegations (UPDATE: 48 more workers to be deported by Monday)

ABC News 23rd Nov 2025: 15 Bangladeshi Migrant workers deported from Ansell-linked Malaysian glove factory Mediceram after abuse allegations (UPDATE:

November 23, 2025 No Comments

Bangladesh

21st Nov Green Left AUS: Bangladeshi workers (alleged forced labour victims) in Ansell’s supply chain (Mediceram, Malaysia) face deportation

21st Nov Green Left AUS: Bangladeshi workers (alleged forced labour victims) in Ansell’s supply chain (Mediceram, Malaysia) face deportation November

November 21, 2025 No Comments

Bangladesh

United Nations (UN) NEWS RELEASE 21 Nov 2025 – Malaysia: UN experts sound alarm over continued systematic exploitation of Bangladeshi migrant workers in Malaysia (alleged criminal syndicate trafficking Bangladeshi workers for forced labour in Malaysia)

United Nations (UN) NEWS RELEASE 21 Nov 2025 – Malaysia: UN experts sound alarm over continued systematic exploitation of Bangladeshi

November 21, 2025 No Comments

Malaysia

Daily Star 17th Nov 2025: Bangladeshi workers (alleged forced labour victims) file police reports against Malaysia’s Mediceram glove company (Ansell’s global supply chain)

Daily Star 17th Nov 2025: Bangladeshi workers (alleged forced labour victims) file police reports against Malaysia’s Mediceram glove company (Ansell’s

November 17, 2025 No Comments

Human Rights

Daily Star 15th Nov 2025: Bangladeshi High Commission to Mediceram – ‘Reinstate 170 workers’ in Ansell global gloves supply chain alleged forced labour case in Malaysia

Diplomacy Daily Star 15th Nov 2025: Bangladeshi High Commission to Mediceram – ‘Reinstate 170 workers’ in Ansell global gloves supply

November 15, 2025 No Comments

Bangladesh

Associated Press World News 10th Nov 2025: Bangladeshi workers protest over unpaid wages and mistreatment claims in Malaysian global supply chain factories (today’s Dhaka human chain protest summaries)

WORLD NEWS Associated Press World News 10th Nov 2025: Bangladeshi workers protest over unpaid wages and mistreatment claims in Malaysian

November 10, 2025 No Comments

Bangladesh

Daily Star 8th Nov 2025: 152 Bangladeshi workers at Mediceram in Malaysia (Ansell gloves global supply chain) protest forced repatriation, appoint legal counsel

Daily Star 8th Nov 2025: 152 Bangladeshi workers at Mediceram in Malaysia (Ansell gloves global supply chain) protest forced repatriation,

November 8, 2025 No Comments

Bangladesh

Daily Star 6th Nov 2025: Dream turns into despair for 10 deported Bangladeshi migrants from Mediceram in Malaysia (Ansell/YTY gloves supply chain factory)

Daily Star 6th Nov 2025: Dream turns into despair for 10 deported Bangladeshi migrants from Mediceram in Malaysia (Ansell/YTY gloves

November 6, 2025 No Comments

Fundraise for Andy Hall to Overturn Unjust Conviction for Whistleblowing: Qatar

Why Human Rights Matter to Business?

Risky Business with Darian McBain: Asia

15th January 2024

Why Human Rights Matter to Business with Darian McBain – Interview with Andy Hall – Migrant Worker Rights Specialist

Asian business is changing. Customer demands, government regulations, stakeholder expectations, they are all evolving under the pressure of the environmental crisis. And even the most robust business models are starting to show cracks. But it’s through those cracks that opportunities arrive.

Do you know how to navigate this new normal?

Andy Hall is a human rights defender, a researcher/investigator and activist, and an independent specialist on migrant worker rights.

In this episode of Risky Business, Andy talks about how he uncovered – and helped to tackle – the problem of labour rights abuses in Malaysia’s latex glove industry.

Click HERE to listen

Andy Hall’s Twitter

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Migrant worker rights specialist (andy@andyjhall.org) living in Nepal, focused on migration in/from Asia, exploring Himalayas, investigating the unreported

Andy Hall @atomicalandy ·

29 Jan

‘Warlord-run corrupt nation’: Latheefa fumes over Bestinet article, govt silence - Malaysiakini

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Grok @grok ·

26 Jan

@Pascarey1 @zaidibrahim @anwaribrahim Bestinet was founded in 2008 by Datuk Seri Aminul Islam, a Bangladeshi businessman in Malaysia. Reports from Bloomberg and The Edge link him and Ruhul Amin (of Catharsis International) to a recruitment syndicate allegedly profiting from Bangladeshi workers via high fees and… https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2015752912941564351

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BFM News @newsbfm ·

27 Jan

Bangladeshi workers pay recruitment fees of up to US$6,600 to work in Malaysia, significantly higher than those paid by other migrant groups, only to face exploitation and trafficking, Bloomberg reports.

Several migrants allege that senior Malaysian officials are aware of the… https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2016017636367483029

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Andy Hall @atomicalandy ·

27 Jan

RT @MNowNews: It follows a 10-month investigation into the dark world of migrant worker recruitment that has destroyed the lives of thousan…

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Andy Hall @atomicalandy ·

27 Jan

For the original Bloomberg story link, additional media stories and all responses see

Latheefa Koya @LatheefaKoya

Total silence from Putrajaya since this story came out a couple of days ago.

Where are all the big boasts about fighting corruption, cartels etc?

It is a sickening, nauseating tale
of the exploitation of desperate migrant workers, while political & business elites reap the… https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2015254870442606781

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Andy Hall

Andy Hall is a British human rights defender and a migrant worker specialist working in Asia, Middle East and the Gulf

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6 days ago

m.malaysiakini.com/news/766779‘Warlord-run corrupt nation’: Latheefa fumes over Bestinet article, govt silencePublished Malaysiakini: Jan 28, 2026 4:38 PMFormer MACC chief Latheefa Koya has raised doubts on Putrajaya’s commitment to fighting systemic corruption in the country.This followed a recent extensive report by Bloomberg about the ugly side of Bestinet – a Bangladesh migrant recruitment system that Malaysia adopted in 2015 and continued by the Anwar Ibrahim-led government in 2024 despite criticisms.Taking to X, Latheefa (above) questioned the government for keeping silent about the Jan 23 article, which contained damning allegations against Malaysia and government officials.“Where are all the big boasts about fighting corruption, cartels etc? It is a sickening, nauseating tale of the exploitation of desperate migrant workers, while political and business elites reap the benefits and profits.“We now sound like one of those warlord-run, corrupt African states we often read about. Don’t even bother denying, we know it’s true – the migrant recruitment abuse in Malaysia has been known for a long time, and it damns us as a nation.“But arising from this new expose, the big question is – why did the cabinet under Anwar renew Bestinet in 2024?“And why has the Madani government closed its eyes to the loathsome trade in human beings that is the Bangladesh migrant recruitment system in Malaysia?” she asked. Titled “Everyone Gets A Cut, And Migrant Workers Pay The Price”, the article centred around the plight of Bangladeshi migrants who had to borrow a hefty amount of money so they could pay an alleged “syndicate fee” to work in Malaysia.While migrant workers all over the world are facing the same problem of having to borrow money to get work, the article noted that Bangladeshis had to pay more than double compared to others after Putrajaya adopted a system introduced by Bestinet, which was founded by Aminul Islam, a Bangladeshi who has been naturalised as Malaysian.Putrajaya’s adoption of the system in 2015 also came with another arrangement that forced Bangladesh to route its workers through only 10 out of the country’s over 1,000 agencies.‘Syndicate fee’According to Bloomberg, Amin and Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who was then-home minister, had allegedly played key roles in this, but pointed out that Zahid had denied any involvement with Bestinet in 2018. READ MORE: Who is Bestinet founder Aminul?Back then, the system allegedly saw the 10 agencies unlawfully charging an additional fee called the “syndicate fee” on each migrant worker who wished to enter Malaysia.Along with several other charges, the costs could skyrocket to as high as USD6,600 (RM25,000), which the International Labour Organisation described as more than twice what Bangladeshis paid before Bestinet got involved.Aminul IslamBloomberg said more than a dozen of those it interviewed suggest that “figures in Malaysia’s ruling elite, including at the highest levels of government, are aware of the issues but don’t attempt to fix them because the recruitment fees line the pockets of everyone involved”.For the record, Bestinet has long been dogged by controversy, starting from 2015, when the Foreign Worker Central Management System (FWCMS) it provided to the government was suspended from use amid claims that it won the deal through political connections, ostensibly from former home minister Azmi Khalid.In a response at the time, Azmi said the deal was not signed yet and that it was only in the proof-of-concept stage.Despite the initial suspension, the system was later reinstated and used by government agencies to process the hundreds of thousands of migrant workers entering Malaysia every year.No formal contractHowever, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and Auditor-General’s Department found there was never a formal contractbetween the government and Bestinet, which collected RM100 from each worker for the service.PAC also found that the cabinet, in August 2015, agreed to put the FWCMS on trial mode, together with another system provided by another provider, called ePPAx.ePPAx was built by Syarikat Ivy Matrix Sdn Bhd, which won a RM20 million Human Resources Ministry project through an open tender.PAC found both the FWCMS and ePPAx served the same purpose of “processing (migrant workers) from the application stage to the end of employment and return to their sending country”.Despite ePPAx’s development, the Home Ministry decided to use FWCMS instead. In 2018, the government issued an approval letter to Bestinet to develop, supply, provide, and maintain FWCMS for six years from April 1, 2018, to May 31, 2024.On Dec 22, 2021, the Ismail Sabri Yaakob-led government agreed to use FWCMS exclusively but no formal contract was drawn up. Hamzah Zainudin was the home minister at the time.Hamzah Zainudin“This means that the government/Home Ministry has used the FWCMS system for approximately six years without a finalised contract, clearly violating the regulations set by the government,” PAC said in a statement.PAC also flagged other issues, including system vulnerabilities to hacking and potential fraud in migrant worker management.Despite these issues, in June 2024, the cabinet agreed to extend Bestinet’s contract for another three years, but with improvements in governance ... See MoreSee Less

'Warlord-run corrupt nation': Latheefa fumes over Bestinet article, govt silence

m.malaysiakini.com

What happened to boasts on fighting graft, lawyer asks.

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Andy Hall

1 week ago

Total silence from Putrajaya since this Bloomberg story (on the alleged criminal syndicate trafficking Bangladeshi migrant workers for forced labour in Malaysia) came out a couple of days ago. Where are all the big boasts about fighting corruption, cartels etc? It is a sickening, nauseating taleof the exploitation of desperate migrant workers, while political & business elites reap the benefits and profits. We now sound like one of those warlord-run corrupt African states we often read about.Don’t even bother denying, we know it’s true - the migrant recruitment abuse in M’sia has been known for a long time & it damns us as a nation.But arising from this new expose, the big question is - why did the cabinet under Anwar renew Bestinet in 2024? And why has the Madani govt closed its eyes to the loathsome trade in human beings that is the Bangladesh migrant recruitment system in M’sia?x.com/latheefakoya/status/2015254870442606781?s=46&t=_XQMnLR6Zf7gdwp4T1EXcQ—For the original Bloomberg story link, additional media stories and all responses please see andyjhall.org/2026/01/23/23rd-jan-2026-bloomberg-world-exclusive-on-alleged-criminal-syndicate-tr...x.com/latheefakoya/status/2015254870442606781?s=46&t=_XQMnLR6Zf7gdwp4T1EXcQ ... See MoreSee Less

Latheefa Koya (@LatheefaKoya) on X

x.com

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Latest Blog Posts

23rd Jan 2026 Bloomberg World Exclusive on Alleged Criminal Syndicate Trafficking Bangladeshi Workers for Forced Labour in Malaysia | The Big Take: EVERYONE GETS A CUT, AND MIGRANT WORKERS PAY THE PRICE

14 Jan 2026 PRESS RELEASE: UK High Court rules that forced labour and exploitation claims against Dyson (ATA Malaysia case) will be tried next year

FMT 26th Dec 2025: Bangladeshi workers obtain court injunction against mould manufacturer Mediceram (Ansell supplier) in Malaysia

Human Rights Watch/ United Nations (UN) Nov 26th 2025: Rampant Labour Abuses Against Bangladeshi Migrant Workers in Malaysia (Alleged Criminal Syndicate Trafficking Bangladeshi Workers for Forced Labour in Malaysia/Mediceram)

ABC News 23rd Nov 2025: 15 Bangladeshi migrant workers deported from Ansell-linked Malaysian glove factory Mediceram after abuse allegations (UPDATE: 48 more workers to be deported by Monday)

21st Nov Green Left AUS: Bangladeshi workers (alleged forced labour victims) in Ansell’s supply chain (Mediceram, Malaysia) face deportation

United Nations (UN) NEWS RELEASE 21 Nov 2025 – Malaysia: UN experts sound alarm over continued systematic exploitation of Bangladeshi migrant workers in Malaysia (alleged criminal syndicate trafficking Bangladeshi workers for forced labour in Malaysia)

Daily Star 17th Nov 2025: Bangladeshi workers (alleged forced labour victims) file police reports against Malaysia’s Mediceram glove company (Ansell’s global supply chain)

Daily Star 15th Nov 2025: Bangladeshi High Commission to Mediceram – ‘Reinstate 170 workers’ in Ansell global gloves supply chain alleged forced labour case in Malaysia

Associated Press World News 10th Nov 2025: Bangladeshi workers protest over unpaid wages and mistreatment claims in Malaysian global supply chain factories (today’s Dhaka human chain protest summaries)

Daily Star 8th Nov 2025: 152 Bangladeshi workers at Mediceram in Malaysia (Ansell gloves global supply chain) protest forced repatriation, appoint legal counsel

Daily Star 6th Nov 2025: Dream turns into despair for 10 deported Bangladeshi migrants from Mediceram in Malaysia (Ansell/YTY gloves supply chain factory)

Fundraise for Andy Hall to Overturn Unjust Conviction for Whistleblowing: Qatar

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