Hundreds of clients of the First Travel agency, who fell victim to an alleged umrah (minor haj) scam, may yet receive satisfaction following a ruling by the Central Jakarta District Court.

The court ruled on Tuesday in favor of 46 clients who filed a debt-postponement petition (PKPU) in their bid to either get a refund or depart on the pilgrimage.

The panel of judges found that the travel agency was in debt to the would-be pilgrims, who paid millions of rupiah for its services but had not yet embarked as scheduled.

Four mediators were appointed by the court to negotiate between the clients and First Travel in order to draft a proposal for reconciliation. The proposal should embody the mechanism of debt payment for the clients to be agreed by all sides in the dispute.

“The court grants the plaintiffs’ temporary debt-postponement petition for 45 days effective from the ruling,” presiding judge John Tony Hutauruk told the court.

First Travel now has 45 days to conclude the debt-settlement proposal, but the period can be extended to a maximum of 270 days if the mediators consider the negotiations between the clients and the company are deadlocked.

Tens of thousands of clients have been in anxious limbo since the recent decision by the Religious Affairs Ministry to revoke the company’s permit to organize umrah packages.

The clients filed the lawsuit to prevent the company being liquidated, as they believe there is still a chance of going on the pilgrimages they paid for.

“The [debt-settlement] proposal is designed to accommodate all clients, suppliers and other creditors. Unless the proposal is accepted by all creditors, [First Travel] will be wound up,” the clients’ lawyer, Anggi Putra Kusuma, said. “The PKPU gives the clients legal certainty to issue a debt claim [against First Travel].”

The National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) has named three company officials from PT First Anugerah Karya Wisata, which operated First Travel, as fraud and embezzlement suspects.

The company’s owners, Andika Surachman and his wife Anniesa D. Hasibuan, and Anniesa’s sister Siti Nuraidah “Kiki” Hasibuan, have been arrested and are in police custody. The police allege that the suspects deceived clients by offering cheap umrah packages priced at Rp 14.3 million (US$1,070), 30 percent lower than regular umrah packages.

Through the scheme, the company allegedly embezzled more than Rp 500 billion from thousands of clients.

First Travel legal department head Desky said the company management would soon draft a proposal that he claimed would provide satisfaction for all clients.

“Honestly it’s easier for us to send our would-be pilgrims on their pilgrimages because,it’s our responsibility,” Desky added.

He, however, did not give straight answers as to whether First Travel had the money to send thousands of pilgrims to Mecca, saying only that “the assets are now seized by the police, but we will include a simulation [of the financing] in our proposal.”

The Police’s investigation has concluded that the number of clients who paid for First Travel umrah packages but had yet to depart increased from 35,000 to 58,682, who, “in total, suffered Rp 848.7 billion” in losses, said Bareskrim director of general crime Brig. Gen. Herry Rudolf Nahak.

First Travel was also in debt to suppliers to the tune of Rp 118.7 billion, comprising Rp 85 billion in unpaid airline tickets, Rp 9.7 billion in unpaid visa fees and Rp 24 billion for hotel accommodation in Mecca and Madinah in Saudi Arabia, he added.

National Police spokesperson Insp. Gen. Setyo Wasisto said the PKPU mechanism and police investigation into the case could run simultaneously.

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