‘Lured, duped and harassed’

Md Abdur Rasel, a medical representative at Reneta Limited, left his job after being lured to go to Portugal by an agent of Probashi Sheba Limited, a consulting firm based in Dhaka's Gulshan.

"The agent told me I could earn at least Tk 85,000 monthly excluding food costs, by working at a restaurant in Portugal. So I left my job and used the amount from my provident fund," Rasel said.

Sanaul Islam, who was also lured by the firm's agent to go to Europe, had to sell his land and borrow money from relatives.

Despite not having a licence to operate as a recruiting agency, Probashi Sheba Limited had made deeds with four persons, including Rasel and Sanaul, for Tk 3.10 lakh each, luring them to go to Europe.

It also provided them with block booking appointments at the Portugal Embassy in New Delhi for visas, using sniping bots and fake details under the name of VFS Global Limited, a visa processing agency.

It was only after travelling to New Delhi to submit their visa application that the four came to realise that they were duped.

The victims were supposed to submit visa applications with help of the firm's agents. However, upon reaching New Delhi, they did not find any agent.

"They had merely provided us with fake visa appointments and deceived us in various ways," said Sanaul.

After returning to Dhaka, one of the victims lodged a complaint with Gulshan Police Station. The firm later agreed to return Tk 1.50 lakh to each of them. It has, however, been dilly-dallying with conditions for returning their money since then.

Gaurav Pilley, a senior executive at VFS Global's customer care, in an email response to The Daily Star, said through numerous investigations they became aware that Probashi Sheba Limited was block-booking appointments using sniping bots and fake details to sell free visa appointments.

The organisation also claims to be linked to VFS Global to appear more trustworthy, he also said, adding that VFS Global is working on ways to stop them from making block-booking appointments.

"Instead of returning our money, now they are subjecting us to harassment and threats as we seek reimbursement as per the deed," Sanaul said.

Contacted, SM Rezaul, business development specialist at Probashi Sheba Limited, said they provide consultancy to people wishing to go abroad according to their needs and qualifications and provide services through contracted organisations if they need assistance to complete the process.

When asked if it is legal to sign a deed in exchange for money to facilitate someone's travel without being a licensed recruiting agency, Rezaul said, "A recruiting agency is not required for white-collar or skilled jobs. We can assist people in reaching specific destinations by facilitating visa applications and obtaining visas along with offer letters if the candidate is selected through a direct interview by any international organisation."

When asked about the fake appointments for visas, and imposing conditions on the victims -- including withdrawal of a news report published in a Bangla daily -- to get their money refunded, he could not provide any satisfactory answer and asked this correspondent to visit his office.

"I have heard about Probashi Sheba Limited for the first time. It is not on the list of BPO (business process outsourcing) companies," said Towhid Hossain, general secretary of BPO Business Operators' Society.

Tipu Sultan, joint secretary-general of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies, said, "People cannot trust real recruiting agencies for fraudulent entities like Probashi Sheba Limited. Action should be taken against such companies for deceiving people."

"A BPO company has no legal way to sign a deed with people to take them aboard in exchange for money. Only an international recruiting agency can do it," said Zohora Monsor, deputy director at the Bureau of Manpower and Employment Training.