Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – A private company operating under the approval of the Bangladesh government, Expert Service Kuala Lumpur (ESKL), has come under scrutiny following allegations of money laundering linked to its activities in Malaysia. Reports suggest that ESKL is charging exorbitant fees for services such as passport and national ID processing, significantly exceeding the government-mandated rates.

Despite multiple allegations of corruption against ESKL, certain officials at the Bangladesh Embassy in Malaysia and a syndicate of Bangladeshi expatriate journalists are reportedly working to conceal the company’s misconduct. It has been alleged that some Bangladeshi journalists in Malaysia are protecting ESKL’s operations in exchange for financial gain and personal benefits.

The investigative team from The Rummage has investigated the activities of several journalists and bloggers, including Bappy Kumar Das, the correspondent for Dhaka’s Daily Kalbela, who has been associated with ESKL. Sources indicate that Das benefits from financial incentives provided by ESKL and has been granted opportunities to travel to Bangladesh from Malaysia free of charge, in exchange for promoting the company and refraining from reporting on its alleged wrongdoings.

Accused syndicate of journalists working for various Bangladeshi media outlets in Malaysia, often alleged to conceal information about corruption on behalf of the Embassy or private organizations (Photo: collected)

Recently, Bappy Kumar Das and other social media-focused bloggers have been chanting slogans promoting ESKL, such as “Get Broker-Free Passport Services from ESKL.” However, it has been noted that ESKL continues to conduct passport application processes in a manner reminiscent of brokers, in exchange for payment.

Background on Bappy Kumar Das and His Role in Malaysia

Bappy Kumar Das reportedly arrived in Malaysia eight years ago in search of employment and is currently residing on a labor visa. While primarily working in the sanitation sector, he also contributes to the Bangladeshi media under the guise of journalism. His lack of legal credentials to work as a journalist in Malaysia raises questions about the legitimacy of his activities. In a conversation with The Rummage, Das claimed he resides in Malaysia on a work visa with a specific company, though he asserted that journalism is not his profession. When questioned about the legitimacy of his journalistic activities in Malaysia, he did not provide a response.

The Rummage reached out to the Daily Kalbela for clarification on how Das was hired, but no response was received. Previously, when a human chain protest was held against corruption within the embassy in Malaysia, Daily Kalbela published a report on the event but later retracted it. Additionally, a journalist who covered the protest was dismissed from the newspaper.

Photo: The news of the protest against the Bangladesh Embassy removed by Daily Kalbela

Das is also reportedly involved with a political organization affiliated with the Awami League in Malaysia, which may offer him certain local advantages. Although he promotes the interests of expatriates on social media, allegations suggest he is involved in ESKL’s illegal passport management and other financial operations.

Photo: Journalist Bappy Kumar Das delivering a speech at an event organised by Awami League (Collected)

According to reliable sources, Das has prioritised ESKL’s interests over those of expatriates, allegedly suppressing information regarding the company’s corruption in exchange for financial benefits. Despite complaints about ESKL’s excessive fees and lack of fair services, Das has failed to report on these issues, indicating that he may be supporting ESKL’s operations for monetary gain.

Recently, expatriate Bangladeshis have raised further allegations against Deputy High Commissioner Khorshed Alam for withholding MRP passport. However, Daily Kalbela and SA TV correspondent Bappy Kumar Das has been accused of concealing this information and spreading misinformation in Malaysia.

Misinformation link spreading by Bappy Kumar Das: https://www.facebook.com/reel/440529892054957

Multiple sources within Malaysia have confirmed that journalists, including Das, benefit from free travel between Malaysia and Bangladesh in exchange for concealing the corrupt activities of ESKL and similar private firms like NZ.

Under anonymity, several Malaysian journalists have reported that speaking out against the corruption involving the Bangladesh Embassy and this syndicate could lead to severe repercussions, including threats to their safety, as these groups are connected to various criminal networks capable of engaging in abduction for a fee.

When questioned about his connections to ESKL, Bappy Kumar Das reacted angrily, threatening on a Facebook Live session. The Rummage attempted to clarify the nature of his relationship with ESKL, but Das dismissed the allegations against him as false while avoiding questions regarding his ties to ESKL.

The ongoing situation raises serious concerns about accountability and transparency within both the ESKL and the broader Bangladeshi expatriate community in Malaysia.

ESKL corruptions and connections to High-Level Figures

Expert Service Kuala Lumpur (ESKL) is the family business of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh. The key figures involved are Sheikh Hasina’s sister, Sheikh Rehana, her cousin, former Chief Whip Nur-e-Alam Chowdhury, and her brother, Mujibur Rahman Nixon Chowdhury. The Managing Director of the company is Gias Uddin Ahmed, the owner of the Mawa Hilsa Project, while marketing management has been assigned to actor Arman Parvez Murad.

With the help of former foreign Minister of Bangladesh, Dr. A.K. Abdul Momen’s close associate and the Deputy High Commissioner of Malaysia, Mohammad Khorshed Alam Khastagir, ESKL was given the responsibility of e-passport and visa processing by the Bangladesh High Commission in Malaysia without a tender. Several corrupt senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs assisted in this task, including Shah Mohammad Tanveer Mansur. Former Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Abdullah Al Masud Chowdhury, who was recently made OSD (officer on special duty), and Additional Secretary Md. Ali Reza Siddiqui, who was transferred from the Security Services Division to the Planning Division through a notification on October 17, 2024, are among them. The advisor to ESKL is the e-passport project director, Brigadier General Mohammad Nurus Salam, who is a close associate of the former government head, along with his deputy project director, Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Faisal.

Ignoring the directives of the Ministry of Home Affairs, on September 22, 2023, the Bangladesh High Commission in Malaysia signed a contract with ESKL without approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs, based on instructions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This contract was signed under the supervision of the Deputy High Commissioner. Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya, the head of the chancery, served as the deputy high commissioner’s close associate in this matter. Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya was assigned to ensure the success of the family business of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, ESKL, upon his posting in Malaysia. The contract signing and subsequent transfer of the e-passport and visa services to ESKL were conducted under the supervision of Deputy High Commissioner Khastagir, Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya, and then-counselor (NSI officer) GM Russell Rana.

On April 18, 2024, ESKL’s office began providing e-passport and visa services for Bangladeshis residing in Malaysia. Shortly thereafter, all equipment, including the government server from the embassy’s passport service center, was transferred to ESKL’s office. Although, according to the contract, the submission of e-passport applications and biometric data was supposed to be conducted by ESKL employees at the passport service center, with the assistance of Deputy High Commissioner Khastagir, ESKL violated the contract terms and removed all equipment, including the e-passport server, to their office.

It is particularly noteworthy that the passport service center was moved from Ampang to the current new office in August 2023. The current building’s owners stated that although the building was contracted for three years, the High Commission has recently issued a notice to vacate. The process of transferring all passport service activities to ESKL’s office is currently underway. Significant public funds were spent on internal structural improvements during the relocation of the passport service center from the old building to the new one. More than 3-3.5 million Taka was spent to prepare the building for machine-readable passports, e-passport services, and NID services, yet it has been reported that the building is being vacated to protect the interests of ESKL. Currently, all equipment and servers related to e-passport services and NID services have already been moved and established at ESKL’s office, where e-passport, visa, travel pass, and NID services are being provided. The current passport service center is only providing machine-readable passport services. Due to vacating the current building before the contract period ends, the High Commission will have to bear the entire cost of the three-year contract. This is allegedly aimed at providing illegal benefits to ESKL. Deputy High Commissioner Khorshed Alam Khastagir and chancery chief Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya are reportedly more focused on protecting the interests of ESKL than providing services to expatriates.

Although a contract was signed for e-passport and visa services, ESKL also unlawfully took over highly sensitive operations such as travel pass and NID services outside the contract. For a travel pass, ordinary expatriates are being charged an additional 20 Ringgit by the High Commission in exchange for the standard fee of 45 Ringgit without any contract. Expatriates are charged 75 Ringgit for NID services, which are supposed to be provided without any government fee. Additionally, unauthorized extra charges are being forcibly collected from expatriates. NSI officer and counselor GM Rana, who was known among expatriates in Malaysia as a trusted confidant of the Deputy High Commissioner, was reportedly involved in this complicity.

Due to protests against ESKL’s unlawful activities outside the contract, the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs removed the highly talented, honest, and duty-conscious counselor (political) and chancery chief Farhana Ahmed from her position. She was replaced by Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya, who operates outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ own system and implements the former government’s agenda as the new chancery chief. Immediately upon taking office, he published a notice on the High Commission’s Facebook page allowing ESKL to accept MRP passport applications without any contract. ESKL is collecting 20 Ringgit from expatriates in the name of providing MRP passport services, with reports of excessive charges in some cases.

According to the terms of the contract, the fee for each passport application was supposed to be deposited directly into the embassy’s bank account, but ESKL has instead taken it into their own accounts. As a result, the hard-earned money of expatriates and the government’s revenue are going into a private company’s account. Notably, allegations have already emerged against the Managing Director of ESKL, and all business partners involved with ESKL for the illegal transfer of billions from Bangladesh to Malaysia. ESKL is also reportedly involved in hawala business under the guise of e-passport and visa services.

The Bangladesh Embassy in Malaysia continues to operate with ESKL, a private company, despite the expiration of their contract on September 21, 2024. Reports indicate that the embassy is proceeding without any formal approval, as efforts are underway to renew the contract. Giasuddin Ahmed, Managing Director of ESKL, is reportedly lobbying various officials within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the renewal.

Photo: From the left Former Consular GM Russell, Managing Director of ESKL Giasuddin Ahmed and Deputy High Commissioner of the Bangladesh Embassy Khorshed Alam

In a related statement, Khorshed Alam, the Deputy High Commissioner of the Bangladesh Embassy in Malaysia, confirmed to The Rummage that discussions are ongoing to extend the contract with ESKL.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Embassy abroad is attempting to take over the operations of all other embassies, including those located in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. Senior officials from both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs are allegedly assisting in these efforts.

There are serious allegations against ESKL, including claims that significant sums of money have been laundered under its name. Moksud Hossain Mukul, a leader of the Awami League in Malaysia, previously protested against ESKL’s alleged irregularities during the prior government. Following his protests, Mukul reportedly received threats from Nur-e-Alam Chowdhury, the then Chief Whip of Parliament, to cease his scrutiny of ESKL. Questions are being raised regarding the motives of ESKL and whether it is concealing ulterior motives under the guise of providing passport services.

Investigations reveal a lack of clarity regarding the amount invested by ESKL under its agreement with the previous government to serve expatriates. The company has failed to provide satisfactory answers about the source of substantial funds reportedly brought to Malaysia. An examination of ESKL’s office expenses and employee salaries suggests that the company is operating at a loss. Both Giasuddin Ahmed and Arman Parvez Murad have reportedly admitted to these losses in conversations with a journalist, prompting inquiries into why a private company would offer services to expatriates at a financial loss.

Reports indicate that Arman Parvez Murad, ESKL’s Marketing and Development Director, has misled expatriates by disseminating false information while withholding the truth from journalists in Malaysia. Recently, Mia Mohammad Kiamuddin, the passport and visa consul of the embassy, became embroiled in a dispute with a broker, later identified as Abdul Qader, who was caught attempting to submit numerous passport renewal applications unethically. A police report was subsequently filed against him. During this incident, Arman Parvez took photographs of the confrontation and provided them to journalists, leading to the publication of misleading news.

To investigate allegations of corruption within ESKL, The Rummage reached out to Khorshed Alam and Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya, the head of the embassy. Bhattacharya indicated that ESKL primarily manages the completion of passport forms and money deposits in banks, charging expatriate Bangladeshis an additional 32 Malaysian Ringgit beyond the prescribed fees.

According to Bangladesh government regulations, the cost for a 10-year passport for expatriate labours and students is set at 50 US dollars, equivalent to between 218 and 222 Malaysian Ringgit. However, Arman Parvez Murad claims that ESKL charges 273 Ringgit in accordance with government fees, in addition to a service charge of 32 Ringgit, bringing the total to 305 Ringgit. This discrepancy suggests that ESKL may be profiting by more than 80 Ringgit without disclosing the full extent of its operations to the public. Expatriates in Malaysia report facing similar challenges when attempting to collect their passports at the embassy.

Furthermore, expatriate workers have expressed concerns that the High Commission has effectively withdrawn its functions by delegating responsibilities entirely to ESKL. They question the role of the High Commission in this arrangement.

Additional complaints against ESKL note that while their passport processing services may be adequate, their passport delivery service has been criticized. ESKL maintains that their responsibilities are limited to processing passports, while the embassy manages delivery. Even though the full service charge for passports is being collected from expatriate Bangladeshis, the ESKL authorities are shifting all the responsibility for delivery issues onto the embassy.

Khorshed Alam, the Deputy High Commissioner, informed The Rummage that, despite the expiration of the contract, the embassy has instructed ESKL to continue its operations while discussions regarding the contract extension are ongoing. However, the embassy has not disclosed whether any approval has been granted by the Bangladesh government.

A source in Malaysia has reported that ESKL continues its operations under the Deputy High Commissioner’s directives, even after the contract has expired, without any formal instructions from the government.

To further investigate the funding and contractual duration of ESKL, The Rummage contacted Arman Parvez Murad. While Murad confirmed that the contract expired on September 21, he insisted that ESKL is still operating under the agreement and declined to provide documentation to support this claim.

The Rummage has identified discrepancies between the information provided by the Deputy High Commissioner and that given by Parvez Murad, raising concerns about ESKL’s continued operation in Malaysia without proper authorization.

On October 4, 2024, Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, visited Bangladesh. In connection with his visit, Shamim Ahsan, Bangladesh’s Ambassador to Malaysia, traveled to Bangladesh on October 2. During his absence, Deputy High Commissioner Khorshed Alam Khastagir assumed the role of Acting High Commissioner.

According to confidential sources obtained by The Rummage, on October 2, a letter was issued and backdated to October 1, requesting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to extend the contract with ESKL. This letter, bearing the signature of Deputy High Commissioner Khorshed Alam Khastagir, appears irregular, as Ambassador Shamim Ahsan was in Malaysia on October 1 and would typically be the signatory in such matters.

It is alleged that, without the knowledge of High Commissioner Shamim Ahsan, Deputy High Commissioner Khorshed Alam Khastagir manipulated the documentation to secure a five-year contract extension with ESKL. The Rummage has reportedly obtained a document substantiating this claim.

Photo: Document signed by Deputy High Commissioner Mohammad Khorshed Alam Khastagir

The issue of ESKL’s investments has also come under scrutiny, with many expatriate Bangladeshi journalists alleging that the company is involved in money laundering from Bangladesh to Malaysia under the guise of passport services, potentially linked to the family of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Despite inquiries, ESKL has not provided a transparent account of its investment sources, income, and expenditures. When approached for further information, Arman Parvez Murad declined to comment and referred inquiries to Giasuddin Ahmed, who could not be reached for comment.