The 29-year-old travel agent, who only wished to be known as Nas, said that most of his counterparts who signed up their customers with the company were duped by false promises.

He also claimed the travel company used “big names” to gain the trust of these tour agents and their customers, before selling the haj packages.

Nas said he is now worried that those unfamiliar with the process involved in signing up for the packages might resort to blaming the agents instead. He feared the stigma it would have on their business in future.

“We are just the travel agents for the groups of pilgrims who sign up for the haj package with us. The travel companies we deal with usually handle ticket management and visa applications,” he told FMT when contacted.

“Those unfamiliar with the process might blame the travel agents but the reality is we too have been scammed.”

According to Nas, he had to bear the accommodation costs for his group of prospective haj pilgrims after they were forced to stay at the nearby hotel for days while waiting for the promised flight to the Holy Land.

However, he admitted that his customers were lucky as they had not made the full payment to the travel company yet, as they needed to do so only after getting their “furada” or private haj visas.

“The process to acquire the furada is complicated since we deal with the Saudi embassy instead of Tabung Haji. Therefore, we have to be honest to the pilgrims by being transparent. If the visa application fails, we have to let them know,” he said.

On Thursday, it was reported that some 380 prospective haj pilgrims found themselves stranded at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. They were believed to be victims of a scam by a travel company.

Yesterday, it was reported that 57 police reports had been lodged over the alleged scam, with the victims claiming losses amounting to over RM2.37 million.

Five suspects have since been nabbed, including the owner of the travel company, an agent and two employees.