Bangladesh, Aug. 21 -- The Criminal Investigation Department has confiscated assets worth Tk 5 billion from Ruhul Amin Swapon, a controversial manpower exporter and former secretary general of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA).

In a media statement on Wednesday, the CID described Swapan as the "chief" of a syndicate that controlled labour recruitment for Malaysia.

Swapan is the owner of Catharsis International, a manpower export company that has been operating since 1997.

During the tenure of the former Awami League government, he was known as a close associate of former finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal.

Allegations suggest he exploited this connection to collect several hundred thousand taka fr...