Saifuddin evades poser on Bestinet founder, details extradition process
Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has sidestepped a parliamentary question on why the government has not extradited Bestinet founder Aminul Islam Abdul Nor.
Aminul is wanted by Bangladesh authorities over alleged money laundering, extortion and trafficking of migrant workers.
Summary
Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng asks home minister to state why the government has not extradited Bestinest founder Aminul Islam Abdul Nor to Bangladesh.
Aminul, a Bangladesh-born naturalised Malaysian, is wanted by Bangladesh over alleged money laundering, extortion and trafficking of migrant workers.
Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, in his parliamentary reply, gives a broad statement on extradition process in the country instead.
Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has sidestepped a parliamentary question on why the government has not extradited Bestinet founder Aminul Islam Abdul Nor.
Aminul is wanted by Bangladesh authorities over alleged money laundering, extortion and trafficking of migrant workers.
In his written reply to Lim Lip Eng (Harapan-Kepong), Saifuddin (above) gave a broad statement about Malaysia’s extradition process without specifically referring to the businessperson’s case or mentioning his name.
“To surrender any individual to any country on the basis that the person is wanted there, (the government) will have to go through the relevant legal process.
“The extradition process in Malaysia is based on two legislations, namely the Extradition Act 1992 and extradition treaties that Malaysia has with foreign countries.
“If Malaysia does not have a treaty with the country, the extradition process can still be carried out based on Section 3 of the Extradition Act,” the minister said in his written reply.
Lim had, on Wednesday, asked Saifuddin why Aminul had not been extradited despite being a wanted person in Bangladesh.
In November, Bangladesh police called on Malaysia to arrest and extradite Aminul, the founding chairperson of Bestinet.
The company runs the controversial and lucrative Foreign Worker Central Management System (FWCMS), which the Malaysian government used to process the entry of hundreds of thousands of migrant workers.
Aminul, a Bangladesh-born naturalised Malaysian, is no longer serving as chairperson but still holds shares in the company.
Bangladesh police had also requested Malaysia to arrest Aminul’s associate Ruhul Amin, over the same charges.
Ruhul, a Bangladeshi national, runs Catharsis International, a Bangladeshi firm also involved in migrant worker management.
The duo are accused of playing key roles in a system which “fraudulently extorted money from the victims” and exposed them to “physical and mental torture”, according to a letter dated Oct 24 sent from Bangladesh’s branch of Interpol to its Malaysian counterpart, which was sighted by Bloomberg.
