Bangladesh has recovered SAR 3,091,243, about Tk 10.23 crore, that the Saudi authorities had withheld over medical costs for 340 Bangladeshi pilgrims during the 2026 Hajj season. The full amount was credited to the Bangladesh Hajj Office’s Nusuk system in Jeddah on 29 October.
Religious Affairs Minister Kazi Shah Mofazzal Hossain (Kaikobad) gave the news at a press conference at the Secretariat on Sunday 1 November. He said the money had been deducted for treatment outside the pilgrims’ insurance cover, and called its return a significant success for protecting pilgrims’ money and saving foreign currency.
Of the total, SAR 2,976,151 had been withheld against 310 pilgrims who travelled with private agencies and SAR 115,092 against 30 who went under government management, the minister said.
Once the deduction came to light, the Bangladesh Hajj Office in Jeddah, guided by the ministry, contacted Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and other authorities several times, verified the details and submitted the necessary documents. The minister said no such deduction had been made in earlier Hajj seasons, a point the office argued with evidence.
He also said that 4,341 pilgrims have been refunded a total of Tk 4,87,23,014 from surplus funds of the 2026 Hajj.
On 28 September the Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) had said the Saudi government held back about Tk 10 crore, or SAR 3 million, in agencies’ IBAN accounts as medical charges after the Hajj, and urged the ministry to secure its release.
Photo: Ali Mansuri / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.5)
Source: Ittefaq
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