“Allegations of human trafficking and money laundering — largely unsubstantiated — have impacted the Malaysian reputation,” Azman Mohd Yusof, secretary general of the nation’s Ministry of Human Resources, wrote in a letter dated April 23.

Bloomberg News reviewed a copy of the letter, which was sent to Neyamat Ullah Bhuiyan, senior secretary of Bangladesh’s Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment. An official familiar with the letter confirmed its authenticity.

The two governments are in talks to restart recruitment of Bangladeshi workers by Malaysian companies. Malaysia halted all such recruitment a year ago, following widespread reports of workers who didn’t get the jobs they were promised, despite paying thousands of dollars in fees, drawing criticism from the United Nations. Both Bangladesh’s police and anti-corruption agency have opened investigations into recruitment matters since then.

Azman asked Neyamat to review all pending allegations and withdraw those without merit, to ensure Malaysia “will preserve and enhance” its Trafficking in Persons (TIP) rankings, Azman wrote, referring to the US State Department’s assessment. It ranks countries based on their efforts to acknowledge and fight human trafficking.

“In addition, we request to prevent the revival of dismissed cases through a formal mechanism,” Azman wrote.

Neyamat, and Asif Nazrul, who is part of Bangladesh’s cabinet and oversees the Expat Ministry, both declined to comment on the letter. A representative for Malaysia’s HR Ministry didn’t respond to a request for comment. It’s not clear if Bangladesh has responded to the letter.

It was sent just weeks ahead of high-level meetings between Malaysian and Bangladeshi officials to discuss recruitment. Neyamat and Asif are poised to meet Malaysia’s Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution and Human Resources Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong in Putrajaya on Thursday.

Labour migration is one of Bangladesh’s most important industries but can involve fees that saddle workers with debts and make them vulnerable to abuse ,as they go abroad.

Malaysia is one of their main destinations. More than one million Bangladeshis have gone to work in the Southeast Asian country over the past two decades, with at least 945,000 living there as of October 2024, government figures show. Human rights activists have documented numerous cases of Bangladeshi and other migrant workers facing abuse, including debt bondage.

That has impacted Malaysia’s human trafficking record. For more than a decade, the US has said that the country doesn’t meet standards under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. In eight of the last 10 years, the US has said that Malaysia either isn’t making significant efforts to rectify this, or that its efforts aren’t sufficient to remedy the problem.

A low TIP ranking means a country can be restricted from accessing foreign assistance funding from the US. It might also face resistance by US representatives at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other multilateral institutions for access to loans.

Last year, Bangladesh started investigations related to labour migration. Bangladesh’s police in October had asked the Malaysian government to arrest and extradite two businessmen, as part of a probe of alleged money laundering, extortion and trafficking of migrant workers.

Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission is also investigating a group of recruitment agency owners and former lawmakers over allegations of embezzlement related to labour migration to Malaysia, according to a local media report. 

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