Belgian Pilgrim Loses 2,000 Euros in Mecca Trip Scam

The Belgian-Moroccan contacted the Brussels company Royal Safari in 2020, which had provided this service to his in-laws a few years ago. "Everything had gone well for them, I had confidence. So I got in touch with them, and I went to Liège to meet the spiritual guide, Mr. Kharbouch. His role is to inform travelers about the course of the stay. He then asked me to pay a deposit of 2,000 euros, which I did, in February 2020," explains Abdelamin to Sud Info.

But with the onset of the health crisis, he had to cancel this trip and asked for a refund. "I knew it was complicated at that time, so I was very patient, about 1 year. When everything started to return to normal, I asked for a refund, and then it was more complicated. They made me run around, him and his accomplice, for months, [...] and ended up telling me that they would never reimburse me. I was in shock," he confides.

"The trip cost me more than 6,000 euros in total. What they are doing is simply shameful. They did not hesitate to insult my wife, to be violent and vulgar. Since May 2022, we have had no more news. We are stuck, and the phone numbers of our contacts have changed," laments the Jumétois, who admits to having been "naive. You think you are dealing with men of religion, but they take advantage of our faith to scam us."

Determined to "assert [his] rights," Abdelamin contacted a number found on the Royal Safari website via WhatsApp. "People will be reimbursed little by little, before and after Ramadan. You have to give us time. It is possible to find another slot to leave, or to find someone to buy your place," the man on the other end of the line, from Morocco, told him, before adding: "If some are not happy, go to court and do what is necessary!"