Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (ATAB) former president Abdus Salam Aref on Thursday appeared before the Bangladesh Competition Commission to respond to allegations of syndication in Kuwait work visa processing and charging migrant workers far above the officially approved fees.
Aref, who is also the managing director of Modern Overseas Limited and Air Speed Private Limited, attended the hearing in person and submitted a written response on behalf of his company, according to Commission sources.
The Competition Commission has launched a preliminary investigation following complaints alleging violations of the Competition Act, 2012. In its notice, the Commission warned that failure to appear or submit relevant documents could result in legal action.
Separately, the Competition Commission has summoned former ATAB Secretary General Asfia Jannat Saleh, also managing director of Saimon Overseas Limited, to appear before the Commission on January 12 over allegations of money laundering through cross-border air ticket sales.
Following several allegations, the Competition Commission has formed an investigation committee led by Director Mohammad Ektidar Alam to probe syndication, ticket hoarding, and alleged financial irregularities in the travel and aviation sector.
According to the allegations, although the officially approved visa processing fee for Kuwait is Tk 5,300 per worker, Abdus Salam Aref's two companies allegedly charged between Tk 35,000 and Tk 40,000 per visa from migrant workers. Over the past eight years, more than 130,000 workers are believed to have been affected, with the alleged syndicate embezzling hundreds of crores of taka.
Recruiting agency officials claim that despite Bangladesh having nearly 2,900 licensed recruiting agencies, visa processing for Kuwait-Bangladesh's sixth-largest overseas employment destination and fifth-largest source of remittances-has allegedly been controlled by a syndicate of only 14 to 15 agencies, including Modern Overseas Limited. Aref is accused of using his leadership position at ATAB to establish monopolistic control over the Kuwait visa processing market.
Amid allegations of irregularities and financial misconduct, the government dissolved the ATAB executive committee led by Aref in August last year and appointed an administrator. General recruiting agencies have since demanded the cancellation of licences of the accused agencies.
also managing director of Saimon Overseas Limited, to appear before the Commission on January 12 over allegations of money laundering through cross-border air ticket sales.
According to ministry and industry sources, former ATAB Secretary General Asfia Jannat Saleh's Saimon Overseas allegedly used its Bangladesh-registered Global Distribution System (GDS) ID to sell airline tickets abroad through foreign agents-an operation prohibited under international aviation regulations. A review by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism found that between January 4, 2024, and August 21, 2025, the company sold 1,894 air tickets in countries including Malaysia, Australia, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and several European nations.
Although passengers reportedly paid for the tickets abroad, revenue estimated at Tk 16 crore was not remitted to Bangladesh through banking channels or IATA's settlement system, causing a direct loss to foreign exchange reserves.
Denying the allegations, Asfia Jannat Saleh described them as part of a "targeted conspiracy" linked to her outspoken stance against ticket syndicates during her tenure at ATAB.
