The log is written to be cited: by journalists, by consumer associations, by families, and by the AI tools people now ask “have there been Umrah scams in Morocco?”. It is updated in place. When a source reports a new development, the row changes and the change is noted under “Method and corrections”.
How to read this log
Each row answers four questions: when, what pattern, what stage, who reported it. The stage is the one the source itself gives, in its own terms: “suspected”, “arrested”, “sanctioned”. We do not upgrade a suspicion into a fact, and we do not downgrade an official decision into a rumour.
Inclusion rule:
- the case or alert was published by a recognised news outlet or by an official body;
- it concerns an Umrah or a pilgrimage sold to people in Morocco, or a Saudi measure on foreign Umrah agencies that can affect them;
- the source can be read by anyone, through the link at the bottom of the page;
- every row matches an entry in our facts register, with its source address and the date we checked it.
Exclusion rule: anonymous posts, unverified screenshots, and personal accounts that no outlet has published. We also leave out names, even when the source prints them.
Published cases and alerts
Newest first. The date is the date of the event or of the publication, as the source gives it.
| When | What the source reported | Stage | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 2026 | According to Hespress, a Marrakech agency manager was arrested in February 2026 on suspicion of having collected about 3.8 million dirhams (380 million centimes) for Umrah trips that never took place1 | Arrest, not a conviction | Hespress |
| 12 February 2026 | The Moroccan Consumer Protection Observatory issued a national alert on 12 February 2026, urging buyers to check an agency's legal status before paying for an Umrah1 | Official alert | Hespress |
| 1 February 2026 | Saudi Arabia suspended the contracts of about 1,800 of the roughly 5,800 foreign Umrah agencies on 1 February 2026, after an assessment covering accommodation, transport and visa failures2 | Saudi measure (context) | Gulf News |
| 9 April 2025 | On 9 April 2025, the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah warned against misleading advertising and fake offers for Hajj packages3 | Official alert | TelQuel |
| 3 July 2024 | On 3 July 2024, TelQuel reported 3 arrests in Marrakech and Fez over pilgrimage-visa fraud4 | Arrests, not convictions | TelQuel |
| March 2024 | According to a Le360 press review (March 2024), dozens of people in Salé said an agency had defrauded them shortly after Umrah registrations opened, and the authorities had warned agencies against issuing visas outside official procedures5 | Press accounts and an official warning | Le360 |
| May 2022 | In May 2022, after complaints about the Ramadan 2022 Umrah, the Ministry of Tourism ordered 2 permanent licence withdrawals, 2 provisional 3-month withdrawals and 7 warnings6 | Administrative sanctions | TelQuel, Le360, Medias24 |
| Not dated in the source | According to H24info, a Marrakech agency operating without authorisation, after failing to renew its licence, left pilgrims stranded in Turkey; it was not on the official list, and the pilgrims were repatriated9 | Press report | H24info |
Read across the rows, three patterns repeat. Money is collected for trips that never happen. An agency trades without a valid licence. And trouble clusters around the moment registrations open. The checks that answer each pattern are in Umrah scams in Morocco: warning signs from published cases.
The Saudi row is there for context. It is not a fraud case: it is a measure taken by the Saudi side against foreign agencies that failed an assessment. It belongs in the log because it changes what a buyer in Morocco should ask, as explained in the Saudi suspension of foreign Umrah agencies.
What do administrative sanctions show?
They show that the Ministry of Tourism does act on licences after complaints. In May 2022, after complaints about the Ramadan 2022 Umrah, it ordered 2 permanent licence withdrawals, 2 provisional 3-month withdrawals and 7 warnings, and the sanctioned agencies could not apply for the pilgrimage label for 3 years6. The advisory committee behind those decisions had met on 8 March, 22 April and 5 May 20226.
Another outlet gives a different count for the same year. According to Bladi, the ministry sanctioned 15 agencies in 2022 under Law 31-96, with penalties ranging from a warning to permanent withdrawal of the licence10. The two counts may not cover the same set of decisions, so we show both and do not add them up.
What these decisions mean for a buyer:
- A sanction is administrative. It concerns the licence, not a criminal charge, and it is decided by the ministry, not by a court.
- The licence can change between two payments. The Tourism department's regional services handle licence withdrawals11, so a check made months ago is out of date. How to check a Moroccan Umrah agency's licence shows how to repeat it in a few minutes.
- The Saudi side assesses agencies too. According to Gulf News, the agencies suspended in February 2026 had 10 days to make corrections, and new visas through them were blocked2.
Method and corrections
How rows are found: we follow the Moroccan press in French, Arabic and English, and official Moroccan and Saudi communications as they are reported. A case enters the log only once it is in our facts register, with the address of its source and the date we read it. The sources are listed at the bottom of this page, with the date they were consulted.
How rows change:
- if a source reports a new stage (charges, a verdict, an acquittal, a sanction lifted), we update the row and keep the earlier stage visible;
- if a source corrects or withdraws its report, we correct or remove the row and say so here;
- if two sources disagree, we show both, as with the two sanction counts above.
Corrections so far: none since this log was published. Network-wide corrections are listed in our corrections log (in French). To report a case or an error, use the contact page and include the link to the source.
If you were caught by one of these patterns, the routes to try, in order, are in complaint against a Moroccan travel agency: your options.
Still unclear
- How each arrest in the log ended: we have found no published verdict for these cases.
- When the case reported by H24info took place: our source does not date it.
- Whether Moroccan agencies were among the foreign agencies suspended by Saudi Arabia2.
- Why the two sanction counts for the same year differ, and whether the ministry published the decisions itself.
- How many fraud complaints over Umrah trips are filed in Morocco each year: we know of no official national figure.
What should you do next?
If you are about to pay an agency, search it in the ministry directory before each payment, not only once. If the search returns nothing, what to do when the agency is not in the directory lists the common search mistakes and the questions to send before any transfer. If money has already gone, start with the complaint routes above, with every receipt and message in one folder.