The Criminal Court has sentenced Mash’ar Tours owner Ali Farish to three years in prison after finding him guilty of fraud and deception in connection with a case involving 48 Maldivian pilgrims traveling for Umrah.
The charges stem from bounced cheques issued by Mash’ar Tours to Ace Aviation Service and Ace Travels Maldives for flight bookings. When the cheques were dishonored due to insufficient funds, the return tickets of the pilgrims were canceled, leaving many stranded and incurring extra costs.
According to court documents, Farish issued two cheques — one for MVR 390,126 and another for MVR 156,050 — to cover airline tickets. Both were rejected by the bank. Despite being given a seven-day grace period to settle the outstanding payments, Farish failed to do so.
The sentencing order noted that the case involved bookings made with SriLankan Airlines and Qatar Airways, and that the victims faced cancellation penalties when the tickets were not honored.
During hearings, Farish claimed he had made partial payments, including MVR 100,000, and argued that since the return tickets were canceled, the full cheque amounts did not reflect the actual costs. He further stated that the tickets issued included only the Jeddah–Malé sector, and therefore he should not be held responsible for the full amounts listed.
However, the court rejected these arguments, ruling that the evidence clearly demonstrated fraudulent intent. The verdict cited Article 51 of the Constitution, emphasizing that the charges had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Farish was handed a prison term of three years, two months, and 12 days. In addition, he has been ordered to pay USD 26,350.32 (approximately MVR 406,321) in damages to Ace Aviation and Ace Travels within two years.
The court highlighted that Farish’s failure to honor his commitments directly caused financial losses, including cancellation fees that had to be borne by the victims.
The Ministry of Islamic Affairs had also filed a case with police after Maldivian pilgrims under Mash’ar Tours were left stranded in Saudi Arabia. The travelers were eventually repatriated at the company’s expense, though public criticism grew when the government stepped in to cover costs for pilgrims sent through unregistered agencies.
This is not the first time the company has faced trouble. In 2023, under its previous name Al-Mash’ar Hajj & Umrah Group, the organization was stripped of its registration to operate pilgrim tours after numerous complaints. Despite this, it rebranded as Mash’ar Tours later that same year and continued operating.
