Bangladeshis 3rd largest group to avail Malaysia\\\'s M2H scheme

Some 3,005 Bangladeshis have availed the much-hyped 'Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H)' facility in last 12 years since the inception of the residency programme in 2002, siphoning off substantial amounts of money.
As the total number of beneficiaries reached 27,179 at the end of December 2014, Bangladeshis became third-largest group of outsiders taking up the facility after China and Japan.  
Statistics available with the official website on MM2H reveal that the Chinese led the field with 22.9 per cent of total beneficiaries followed by Japanese (13.3 pc) and Bangladeshis (11.2 pc).
It's an international residency scheme allowing foreigners to live in Malaysia on a long-stay visa of up to 10 years by investing certain amount of money.
In the first year of the programme in 2002 no Bangladeshis had availed the offer. It was in 2003 when 32 citizens of Bangladesh included themselves in this programme for the first time.
In the year 2005, the highest number of Bangladeshis availed the non-permanent residency facility in Malaysia. The number was 858. Last year, the number was 250.
It is estimated that at least $246 million has been transferred from Bangladesh to Malaysia illegally under the long-stay-visa residency scheme.
To get 10 years' unrestricted visa, one has to show proof of having at least RM0.5 million or US$0.13 million liquid assets in home country. For people aged 50 and above, the requirement is RM0.35 million ($90,000). In both the cases, monthly offshore income worth RM10,000 ($2730) is the second condition.
Once proof of having the said amount of fund is established with documents, it becomes turn for fund transfer to Malaysia. An applicant has to open a fixed account with any bank in Malaysia by depositing RM 0.3 million ($82,000). After one year, 50 per cent of the deposit could be withdrawn but minimum balance has to be RM0.15 million for 10 years.
As every applicant has to transfer at least $82,000 or around Tk 6.4 million to avail the second-home benefit, by this calculation, at least $246 million has illicitly been transferred to Malaysia.  
But the actual amount is much higher as second-home beneficiaries usually purchase property in Malaysia.  
When contacted, executive director of Bangladesh Bank M Mahfuzur Rahman said: "There is no legal way of transferring assets or funds from Bangladesh
to other countries. So, if anyone transfers funds from Bangladesh, he or she has to do it illegally."
Mr Mahfuz, also deputy head of the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), also said there was a trend of over-invoicing or under-invoicing on import or export trade and by such mis-invoicing, capital flight took place.
"But, in recent times, the central bank has increased coordination with the tax and customs authority to contain this practice."
A leading travel agent in Dhaka, on condition of anonymity, said that fund transfer was not a big problem. In many cases, a kind of swap system worked where people staying outside Bangladesh paid or deposited funds with a bank of Malaysia while applicant paid the amount in Dhaka to nominated person.
Although the names or identities of the MM2H beneficiaries are not available, it's a common knowledge that politicians, businessmen and retired bureaucrats are majority on the list.  They not only transferred huge amounts of money but also invested in financial assets and real estates in Malaysia.
In this connection, the central bank official said that they had requested the Malaysian government to furnish names and identities of Bangladeshis living in second home.
"But the Malaysian authority refused to provide any name or identity as the scheme is their legal programme," he added.
Mr Mahfuz also said that if Bangladesh authority could provide name of specific person already having faced legal charges of criminal offence, only then the Malaysian authority might scrutinise whether the person availed long-stay residency or not.
The travel agent, however, said that immigration authority could detect second-home beneficiaries as their passports are stamped with 10-year multiple-entry visa.   
    [email protected]