In Malaysia, hundreds of South Asian migrants were told by recruiting agents that they would help find them jobs in exchange for thousands of dollars in fees. However, these migrant workers have reported that they are losing hope in finding jobs, as they have been without work for months. As a result, many migrant workers have been accumulating debt because they borrowed money to pay for the agents to find them jobs. Furthermore, some of the recruitment agents have taken migrants' passports in promise of jobs, which has left these migrant workers feeling helpless. The Malaysian government has launched an investigation in response to this matter.
See "Migrant workers in Malaysia jobless and accruing debt after recruitment agents promised jobs that didn't exist", A. Ananthalakshmi and Rozanna Latiff, Reuters, May 11, 2023