Askoi Group ordered to pay MVR 185,250 to a defrauded family

The Civil Court has ordered Askoi Group to pay over MVR 185,000 to a family who sued the company after not being taken for Umrah despite having paid for the pilgrimage.

According to the verdict delivered by the Civil Court last Thursday, the case against Askoi Travel Services Private Limited was filed by five members of a family seeking to recover MVR 155,250 paid to the company, as well as the legal costs incurred in bringing the matter to court.

The ruling stated that Askoi Group and its head, Abdulla Rasheed, M. Fineshade, had agreed to pay the requested MVR 155,250 along with MVR 30,000 in legal fees, totaling MVR 185,250, within seven days.

Consequently, the Civil Court ordered Askoi and Abdulla Rasheed to settle the payment within seven days starting from last Thursday.

In July last year, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs revoked Askoi Group's license and took significant disciplinary action against them for collecting money from 28 individuals for Umrah without taking them on the pilgrimage. At that time, each individual had paid MVR 25,500 to the company, totaling MVR 714,000.

The group had cancelled the trip for those scheduled to depart last July at the final moment, claiming that travel to Saudi Arabia was unsafe and that they wished to wait until the unrest in the Gulf region at the time had subsided.

In relation to that issue, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs noted that the head of Askoi had not responded to any official communications.

Furthermore, the company failed to reply to any letters sent by the Ministry. As a result, the Ministry determined that the company had violated the regulations concerning the transportation of people for Umrah, revoked its license, and submitted the case to the police.

According to company registries, the owners of Askoi Travel Service Private Limited are Abdulla Rasheed and Ahmed Sanil. Additionally, a company has also been established under the name Askoi Hajj Umrah Group.