The company, whose palm oil products are banned by the US over allegations of forced labour, said the reimbursement was made yesterday to 15,078 of its workers.

“On Feb 17, SDP’s 15,078 current foreign workers were reimbursed an aggregate sum of RM38.55 million for recruitment fees they may have incurred to secure employment with the company,” it said in a press release today.

It said the reimbursements were paid in a single lump sum and that each worker was informed in writing.

SDP added that the repayments were verified by independent third-party auditors.

This follows the company’s announcement earlier this week that its board had agreed to reimburse its foreign workers when it came to light that some of them were charged additional fees by third-party recruitment agents in July 2021.

The workers are from Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.

It was reported earlier this week that SDP was also setting up a sinking fund amounting to RM43.47 million to reimburse 19,565 former foreign workers.