Official documents reveal financial violations of the Ministry of Endowments and Guidance in the Hajj and Umrah file

Official documents obtained by “Yemen Shabab Net” revealed serious financial violations committed by the Ministry of Endowments and Guidance, represented by the Hajj and Umrah sector, which included its failure to adhere to the controls and procedures regulating the exchange and transfer process.

Letters from Finance Minister Salem Bin Brik to Minister of Endowments Muhammad Aida Shabiba showed that there was no operational budget for the Hajj and Umrah sector for four years in a row from 2021 to 2024 AD, and that it had not submitted financial reports for these years.

It also showed that the Ministry of Endowments opened bank accounts in private banks (Al-Qutaybi Bank), then opened a third account in the same bank, in addition to its failure to submit a spending plan for the mission’s operational expenses, as well as pilgrims’ services expenses, and the controls and procedures regulating the disbursement process from current accounts, in implementation of the reform program. The economic and financial plan implemented by the government under the supervision of the Arab Monetary Fund, international financial institutions and donors.

A letter from the Minister of Finance, dated 6/11/2024, stated that the Ministry of Endowments had disbursed and transferred cash sums from its two current accounts in the amount of more than (337) million Saudi riyals without adhering to the controls and procedures regulating that and the Ministry of Finance’s approval of the withdrawals.

The document also revealed that the Minister of Endowments requested an amount of two million Saudi riyals from the Ministry of Finance as operational expenses for the Hajj sector without submitting a spending plan or budget to disburse that amount, which prompted the Ministry of Finance to apologize for allowing the disbursement for the aforementioned reasons.