Tag: Ismail Abdul Latheef

State produces evidence and witnesses against Maleesha Hajj Group owner

The Prosecutor General has produced witness and evidence obtained through police investigation against Ismail Abdul Latheef, the owner of the ‘Maleesha Hajj Group’.

Latheef is accused of fraudulently obtaining funds from Maldivians who paid his company to go to Mecca last year to perform the obligatory Hajj pilgrimage.

According to the local media, the prosecution produced the evidence of 87 persons who were defrauded, two persons who worked for Maleesha who collected the funds from people, and bank statements belonging to Latheef.

Latheef’s lawyer told the court that the Maleesha Hajj Group was not on the list of local Hajj Groups selected by the Islamic Ministry to send people to Mecca, and said it had not up to date explained why the Maleesha Hajj Group was not permitted this time while it had been the previous two years.

The lawyer told the judge that the Maleesha Hajj Group did try to take the people through Sri Lanka because the Maldives did not allow it, and said Latheef and his family was still trying to find a way to send those people who had paid the company.

Latheef’s lawyer also said he would explain how the funds collected from the people were used.

Police began searching for the 42 year-old in late September after it was alleged that he had defrauded 175 people of MVR 12 million (US$778,000), after they made payments to the company.

Latheef was reported to police after people who had made payments realised that the group’s office had been closed for days without any response or notification.

On October 2, Interpol issued a red notice to locate and apprehend Latheef. He was arrested by Sri Lankan police while he was in the Mount Lavinia Hotel in Colombo.

Attending the Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam. Clients of the company were not able to go to Mecca this year to perform the religious obligation.

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Criminal Court asks PG to revise charges against Maleesha Hajj Group owner

The Criminal Court has asked the Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office to revise charges pressed against Ismail Abdul Latheef, the owner of Maleesha Hajj Group, claiming the charges filed against him were incorrect.

The PG has alleged that Latheef had fraudulently obtained MVR 8 million (US$519,000 ) from many people after they made payments to the Maleesha Hajj Group to travel to Mecca to perform Hajj.

Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed told the PG’s lawyers that the case related to the rights of many people and that the result of the lawsuit might be different if the trial was carried out in its current state, according to local media present at the court today.

The Court has given a three day period for the PG to revise the charges against Latheef.

Attending the Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam. Clients of the company were not able to go to Mecca this year to perform the religious obligation.

Latheef was arrested in Colombo, Sri Lanka in November 2012, a month after police issued an Interpol red notice to locate and apprehend him. Authorities were reported to have arrested Latheef while he was in the Mount Lavinia Hotel in Colombo.

Hajj groups are authorised by the government to provide transport and accommodation for pilgrims in Mecca, as well as offering guidance in helping them complete the religious rituals.

Latheef’s father is the head of the Athama Hajj Group.

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Maldivian on 35th pilgrimage: Saudi Gazette

Ismail Abdul Latheef, head of the local Athama Hajj Group, has been performing the Hajj for the past 35 years, the Saudi Gazette reported on Saturday.

Abdul Latheef is presently in Mecca in charge of 200 Maldivian pilgrims with the Athama Hajj Group.

Latheef, currently in his 50s, told the Saudi online news outlet that he first performed the Hajj pilgrimage when he was a child.

“He came along with his father who was working for a Tawafa establishment in the Maldives. His father sponsored many a family to go to Makkah and perform one of the most important rituals in Islam,” the website reported, adding that Latheef “acquired solid experience in the field and became the manager of his father’s establishment.”

“Every time I see the Grand Mosque, I can’t help but cry tears of joy. Makkah is one of the most breathtaking cities on the globe. Its holiness makes every stone-hearted person melt in awe.” Latheef told the Saudi Gazette.

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