The Islamic Ministry has suspended the license issued to Al-Abarar Umrah Group after it cancelled the Umrah trips of 110 pilgrims at the last minute.
Locals who had paid up to MVR 45,000 were left angry and devastated by the Group who cited the ongoing conflict in the Middle East for its last-minute cancellations.
The Hajj Corporation intervened and arranged for 28 out of the 110 pilgrims to fly out to Saudi Arabia for their Umrah trip, while the Group also began issuing refunds for its customers.
The cancellation and uproar that followed forced the Islamic Ministry and the Police to launch an investigation into the group's action to check for possible fraud.
The Ministry said in a statement that preliminary inquiries revealed that the group was not able to provide a legitimate reason for the last-minute cancellation.
It further said that after review the Ministry would suspend the permit issued to the group to take locals to Umrah pilgrims as a private party in the country.
