Nepal gives 35 days to agency owners yet to respond to arrest warrants

Nepal’s Department of Foreign Employment is investigating how Malaysia selected 25 Nepali recruitment agencies as principal agencies. It obtained authorisation from the Foreign Employment Tribunal to issue arrest warrants for the owners. The owners’ statements could help clarify whether the selection process followed Nepal’s laws and involved unlawful financial activity.

Some owners had not responded to earlier warrants. The department’s notice gives them 35 days from publication to contact the department or Nepal Police. Officials want information about registration in Malaysia’s Foreign Worker Centralised Management System, selection criteria, recommendations, approvals, and possible effects on competition.

The deadline matters because failing to appear can trigger further action under the Foreign Employment Act, 2007, and other laws. The department has already stopped pre-approval for labour permits involving the selected agencies. One owner, Rabin Gurung, has been taken into custody, while other owners say they are ready to cooperate.

Agency owners who ignore the 35-day deadline could face measures designed to pressure them into appearing. Nepal’s Department of Foreign Employment warned that bank accounts used for financial transactions could be frozen and travel could be restricted. These consequences would make it harder for owners to move money or leave the country while the cases continue.

The department also said nonappearance could lead to further legal action under the Foreign Employment Act, 2007, and other applicable laws. The warning applies to people who have not responded to previously issued arrest warrants in foreign employment-related cases. The notice asks them to contact the department or Nepal Police.

The immediate case concerns Malaysia’s selection of 25 Nepali principal agencies. The department initially sought the owners’ statements, and one owner, Rabin Gurung, is already in custody. The selected agencies’ labour-permit pre-approval has also been halted during the investigation and legal proceedings.

FWCMS is Malaysia’s Foreign Worker Centralised Management System. Malaysia’s Ministry of Human Resources announced that Malaysian employers would be allowed to recruit foreign workers only through agencies registered with the system. That makes registration a gateway to recruitment opportunities in Malaysia.

Malaysia’s system lists selected agencies from several labour-sending countries. It includes 25 agencies from Nepal, alongside agencies from the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Thailand. Nepal’s department is examining how the Nepali agencies were registered and selected.

Registration therefore matters financially and operationally. Malaysia has told Nepal it will recruit Nepali workers only through the 25 selected agencies. Nepal wants all licensed Nepali agencies included instead. Until the dispute is resolved, Nepal has halted pre-approval for labour permits involving the selected agencies, while talks continue between the governments.

Malaysia selected 275 Nepali recruitment agencies in total for its new foreign-worker recruitment arrangement. It designated 25 as “principal agencies” and another 250 as “support agencies.” The distinction matters because Malaysia’s announcement and subsequent diplomatic position give the 25 principal agencies the central visible role in recruitment from Nepal.

The selection happened in the third week of August, when Malaysia chose agencies from 10 labour-sending countries. Its FWCMS list includes 25 agencies from Nepal. The article does not specify the exact tasks or legal powers attached to the principal and support labels, so their operational difference cannot be stated more precisely from the available information.

Nepal is investigating why only 25 agencies were selected as principal agencies. The Ministry of Youth, Labour and Employment directed the investigation, and the department has paused pre-approval for labour permits involving the selected agencies. Nepal has asked Malaysia to include all licensed Nepali agencies.

Nepal is challenging Malaysia’s selection because the process affects which Nepali agencies can recruit workers for Malaysia. The Ministry of Youth, Labour and Employment asked the Department of Foreign Employment to examine why only 25 agencies were chosen as principal agencies and to act if laws were breached.

Officials are seeking details about FWCMS registration, selection criteria, evaluation methods, recommendations, approvals, competition, and possible unlawful financial activity. They are also checking compliance with the Foreign Employment Act, 2007, the Foreign Employment Rules, 2008, and other laws. These questions address both fairness and legality.

Nepal’s Labour Minister Ramjee Yadav urged Malaysia to include all licensed Nepali agencies and reconsider its criteria. Malaysia instead sent a diplomatic note saying it would recruit Nepali workers only through the 25 selected agencies. The dispute remains unresolved at both prime ministerial and labour ministerial levels.

A 25-agency limit could concentrate recruitment opportunities among a small group of Nepali firms. That may reduce competition for overseas recruitment business and leave other licensed agencies unable to work directly through Malaysia’s system. The Department of Foreign Employment is specifically examining whether the arrangement restricts competition.

For workers, fewer participating agencies could mean fewer channels for finding Malaysian jobs. For Malaysian employers, the policy could reduce the number of Nepali agencies available to help identify and process workers. These are likely effects of a restricted channel, but the article does not report measured impacts, costs, or worker outcomes.

The immediate system is already contested. Malaysia insists it will recruit Nepali workers only through the 25 selected agencies, while Nepal wants all licensed agencies included. Nepal has halted pre-approval for labour permits involving the selected agencies until the investigation and legal proceedings finish.

In general practice, a licensed recruitment agency connects people seeking jobs with employers abroad. It may receive job demands, identify suitable workers, handle applications and documents, and coordinate with authorities in both countries. The exact duties vary by national rules and the recruitment system being used.

In this case, Malaysian employers were told to recruit foreign workers only through agencies registered in FWCMS. Nepal’s department is examining how agencies entered that system, who recommended or approved them, and whether the process restricted competition. Those questions show how registration can control access to cross-border recruitment.

Governments regulate this process because overseas recruitment involves workers, employers, permits, money, and multiple legal systems. Regulation can set licensing requirements, check compliance, and address unlawful financial activity or violations of employment laws. The article specifically refers to Nepal’s Foreign Employment Act, 2007, Foreign Employment Rules, 2008, and the current investigation.