Bangladeshi jailed over illegal recruitment, money laundering

A foreign national working in the Maldives has been sentenced to imprisonment by the Criminal Court after pleading guilty to offences related to the illegal recruitment of foreign workers and money laundering.

The prosecution charged Shahadath Hossain, a Bangladeshi national, with multiple offences, including money laundering, bribery, acting without authorisation, and two counts of knowingly producing invalid documents.

According to the charges, Shahadath brought foreign nationals into the Maldives and recruited them for work while presenting himself as an employment agent without legal authority. Prosecutors said he acted as a representative for employers and private individuals and arranged work quotas for foreign workers by submitting invalid documents.

The prosecution said that between 23 October 2019 and 15 October 2024, a total of MVR 8.2 million was circulated through bank accounts held in Shahadath’s name.

Shahadath entered guilty pleas to the charges and signed a plea agreement with the state. Under the agreement:

Criminal Court Judge Ali Adam accepted the confession and issued the sentence.

The court noted that Shahadath had already spent 10 months and 17 days in custody prior to sentencing. As a result, he faces a remaining prison term of two years, one month and 12 days.