Dhaka: A total of 35 Bangladeshi workers have returned home from Russia after being terminated from their jobs, with the returnees alleging fraud and deception in the recruitment process.

The workers arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 17:45 on Sunday, January 18, aboard Qatar Airways Flight QR638.

Shariful Hasan, Associate Director of BRAC, said the returnee workers were provided with transportation and other emergency assistance at the airport through joint support from the Expatriate Welfare Desk and Civil Aviation Security.

Several of the returnees, including Mashiur Rahman from Gaibandha, Asmat Ali from Manikganj, Haiyul Mia from Mymensingh, Azadul Haque from Sirajganj, Prosenjit Rajbanshi from Dhaka, and Md Abdullah from Chapainawabganj, alleged that they were deceived in the name of overseas employment. Each worker reportedly spent an average of Tk7 lakh to secure the jobs.

According to the workers, the recruiting company terminated their employment without providing any clear explanation and decided to send them back to Bangladesh. They said a total of 120 Bangladeshi workers are being repatriated in phases, with Saturday’s return marking the first batch.

The workers further alleged that they were sent to Russia in July 2025 through Kashipur Overseas (RL-1317) under clearance issued by the Bureau of Manpower, Employment, and Training (BMET). Although the clearance mentioned the Russian company Mars International Limited Trade Development, the workers claimed that upon arrival in Russia they were employed by a different company, LLC Alabuga Development Company.

They said their contracts specified factory work, but in reality they were assigned to building construction jobs.

The victims also alleged irregularities in the recruitment process prior to their departure. Initially, they were transferred from a travel agency named Jubayer Overseas to another recruiting agency, TPS-360 Bangladesh Limited (RL-995), which later completed the processing and arranged BMET clearance. However, they claimed that TPS-360 Bangladesh Limited used the license of another recruiting agency, Kashipur Overseas (RL-1317), in obtaining the BMET clearance.

The affected workers have called on the relevant government authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter and to take legal action against those responsible.