A Bangladeshi has been arrested by investigators from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ministry of Interior, for what is allegedly said to be a major visa and human trafficking racket that involved money laundering as well.
Two other Bangladeshi nationals accused in the same criminal activity are believed to have left the country. The trio, who held senior positions in three companies in Kuwait, allegedly brought into the country more than 20,000 Bangladeshi workers for large sums of money that is said to have exceeded KD50 million.
One of the three accused, who is said to have frequently shuttled between Bangladesh and Kuwait, often staying in Kuwait for less than 49 hours, is on the board of directors of a major bank in Bangladesh and recently became a member of the country’s parliament.
Suspecting that he would soon be investigated by CID personnel, the MP is said to have left the country about a week ago. Files of the company he was running in Kuwait are said to have been suspended after workers complained that they had not received their salaries for over five months. Investigators also found that the workers, who were brought into the country on government cleaning contracts, were paid salaries that were lower than what was stipulated in their official contract.
Investigations reveal that the three men had a large network of Bangladeshi employees working for them and were involved in visa trafficking. On questioning the workers it also became clear that each worker paid on average KD2,000 for their visa, while holders of driver visas paid on average KD2,750 for a visa.
Another member of the gang, who is accused of bringing into the country more than 7,000 workers, is said to have left Kuwait for an European country, taking advantage of the contacts he developed while working for the company in Kuwait.
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