Tk37.94cr of unspent funds reimbursed to 990 hajj agencies: Adviser Khalid
Following requests from the agencies, the Ministry of Religious Affairs took the initiative to recover the unspent funds, sending several letters to the Saudi ministry, and raising the issue during multiple bilateral meetings.
A total of 990 Hajj agencies have received refunds amounting to Tk37.94 crore in unspent funds that had remained unutilised in Saudi Arabia over the past eight years, said Religious Affairs Adviser AFM Khalid Hossain today (13 October).
The money, previously deposited in the IBAN under the 'Masar Nusuk' platform of the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, was recovered through the efforts of Bangladesh's Ministry of Religious Affairs, said the adviser at a press briefing held at the ministry's conference room in the Secretariat.
He said that for both government and private Hajj operations, funds were transferred to IBAN accounts through the Saudi Hajj and Umrah Ministry's Masar Nusuk platform, with prior approval from Bangladesh Bank, to cover expenses in Saudi Arabia.
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However, a portion of the money sent by Bangladeshi Hajj agencies between 2017 and 2024 remained unspent.
Following requests from the agencies, the Ministry of Religious Affairs took the initiative to recover the unspent funds, sending several letters to the Saudi ministry, and raising the issue during multiple bilateral meetings.
As a result, the Saudi ministry has returned the unspent funds to the Bangladesh Hajj Office's Masar Nusuk IBAN account.
"A total of 990 Bangladeshi Hajj agencies had unspent funds in the Saudi ministry's IBAN accounts, and now all of them have received their money back," he said.
