According to Amnesty International, thousands of migrants paid “illegal recruitment fees” to work during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Some allegedly paid more than £450, or more than a third of their expected salary, to work for Qatar-based Teyseer Security Services.

The human rights organization now wants Fifa to compensate the workers.

“Fifa has yet to effectively investigate,” Amnesty International’s head of economic and social justice, Steve Cockburn, said.

“Qatar’s existing redress mechanism is inadequate, and thousands of workers have been denied compensation for abuses suffered.”

“Fifa must now step in and offer immediate and meaningful remediation.”

Teyseer refuted the charges, stating that they “strictly adhere to ethical recruitment processes and standards, and all of our agencies abide by them.”

Amnesty International said it spoke with people from Nepal, Ghana, and Kenya who had been hired by Teyseer to work for three months starting in mid-October, and that they had all “incurred recruitment-related costs to secure their positions.”

According to the research, some people paid hundreds of pounds to acquire jobs as security guards and marshals.

Some employees paid for airfare and lodging in order to attend a two-week training session in their home countries, during which they were not paid.

According to Amnesty International, Teyseer’s hiring letters said that “all recruitment-related costs” would be refunded.

Teyseer stated that they “paid for all recruitment expenses” with the exception of “attested police clearance certificates.”

“All selected candidates were informed to be cautious and vigilant when encountering any requests for payment during the recruitment process, and to contact our company if such situations arise,” they added.

Qatar informed the BBC that it was “proud to lead the region on labor rights” and that it has “worked with global partners to implement a fair and effective labor system, supported by robust enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance among all employers.”

“Qatar strictly enforces its ban on illegal recruitment fees and contract substitution.”

Hundreds of marshals staged a protest before their contracts expired in early January, demanding compensation for their recruitment fees, unpaid overtime, and a bonus promised upon completion of their responsibilities.

According to Amnesty International, workers were promised compensation but that promise was not kept. It goes on to say that migratory employees who have left the nation have no recourse.

According to Qatar’s Workers Support and Insurance Fund, “unpaid salaries are paid to workers, including those who have completed their employment and returned to their home country.”

Fifa, the world’s governing body, said it was made aware of Amnesty’s allegations on April 19 and “promptly followed up with the Supreme Committee’s Worker’s Welfare Department as well as the International Labour Organization’s Doha Office.”

“Fifa, in collaboration with its Qatari counterparts, implemented a comprehensive due diligence process to ensure that companies involved in Fifa World Cup-related construction and services adhere to the Supreme Committee’s Workers’ Welfare Standards,” according to a Fifa spokesperson.

“We consider any noncompliance with these standards to be unacceptable and are actively investigating alleged violations.”