The two men, Aminul Islam and Ruhul Amin, are alleged to have played a vital role in a system that “fraudulently extorted money from the victims”, Bloomberg reported.

Aminul’s lawyer has categorically denied the allegations raised in the letter to Malaysian authorities.

Ruhul has also denied the allegations, via Catharsis International, a Dhaka-based recruitment firm of which he is the owner, adding that the company has “always been operating legally, legitimately and ethically”.

According to a letter dated Oct 24, from Bangladesh’s Interpol branch, sent to its Malaysian counterparts, the victims were allegedly exposed to physical and mental torture.

Bloomberg confirmed the contents of the letter with Bangladesh’s Interpol branch and a senior Bangladeshi government official.

Bangladeshi police had also requested that Putrajaya temporarily halt the use of a software provided by Bestinet Sdn Bhd, a company linked to Aminul, who was born in Bangladesh but was granted Malaysian citizenship.

A representative for Bestinet told the news outlet that the company was not aware of the letter from Bangladesh’s police, including the request that Malaysian authorities stop using its software. The company declined to comment further on the matter.

Bloomberg had also contacted Malaysia’s police, as well as the home ministry and the foreign ministry for comments but they have yet to respond.

Bloomberg wrote that the human resources ministry had declined to comment.

Inspector Ashiqur Rahman, who is part of Bangladesh’s Interpol branch, said the duo were last sighted in Kuala Lumpur.

He also said Malaysian authorities had responded to the letter by requesting that the Bangladesh police submit a formal request for extradition.

Ashiqur said the relevant documents were being prepared.