MAKKAH: A Ministry of Haj official is being investigated for allegedly abusing his powers by granting his son a permit to start a Haj and Umrah company. The permit was issued even when the Ministry of Interior has stopped issuing them, according to information received by Okaz/Saudi Gazette. The company started operating last year. There have been many complaints about the poor services offered to Haj pilgrims, the sources said. The Control and Investigation Board (CIB) had started a probe after receiving a complaint from a disgruntled citizen who sought more information about the matter and wrote several times to the Haj Ministry official. There was no response, sources said. The CIB demanded the official provide legal and other criteria for granting the permit. When there was no response, the CIB referred the case to higher authorities, sources said. Ibrahim Al-Jabri, Director of the Affairs of Domestic Pilgrims at the Ministry of Haj, would not comment on the case. “This is not within my jurisdiction,” he said. However, Al-Jabri told Okaz/Saudi Gazette Monday that government had stopped issuing permits because there were too many companies operating in Mina, in a “limited geographical space”. “This forced the organizing authorities to stop granting new permits. Furthermore, the current companies and establishments holding permits are not working at full capacity.” The company launched by the Haj Ministry official's son has its headquarters in Jeddah and 10 branches throughout the Kingdom, sources said, but its services were inadequate and caused problems for customers, who lodged a number of complaints with the Ministry of Haj.
