How a Saudi Travel Agency Bankrupted an Indian Migrant Worker

When Ahmed Abdul Majeed passed away India Down Saudi Arabia in June 1981, he was excited to start a new chapter in his life.

He started his career in a travel agency in Hyderabad after graduating with honors in mathematics.

It was there that he was noticed by recruitment agents working for Saudi companies.

“In June 1981, Al Tayyar Travel hired me as senior sales director,” says Abdul Majeed, referring to the popular Saudi Arabia-based agency.

He moved to Riyadh, beginning a forty-year career in the Saudi capital.

This chapter later had a devastating end.

This would mean threatening to arrest Abdul Majeed and ordering him to work for free, taking away his passport and forcing him to sell his family assets to cover the debts of corporations that had nothing to do with him.

The 67-year-old told Middle East Eye about his ordeal in his first interview.

“I really liked my job. It involved operations, sales and marketing – I was a versatile person,” he recalls, adding that he sometimes managed a team of over 20 people.

“I was known for my high-class clientele, such as royal families and embassies.”

The Ritz-Carlton Purge

Abdul Majeed has built a personal relationship with the company’s founder and owner, Saudi tycoon Nasser al-Tayyar.

“We always talked – not only on business, sometimes privately. He talked about his family and I talked to him about mine.

Everything was going well in Abdul Majeed’s career until everything changed on November 4, 2017.

Tayyar, along with 200 other powerful Saudi businessmen, royals and officials, were arrested and taken to the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyad in a purge that was described as an “anti-corruption” operation.

Under this operation, led by newly appointed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi elites were investigated and detained until they agreed to hand over some of their wealth.

Prince Mutaib bin Abdullahson of the late King Abdullah and once seen as a potential crown prince, was tortured and beaten, sources told MEE at the time.

There was this one Saudi general reportedly tortured to death.

Saudi officials said about $106 billion was seized from 381 people, although the numbers are questioned.

“Every night I woke up and cried. You have no idea what I’ve been through

–Ahmed Abdul Majeed

Tayyar, like many other detained elites, reached a settlement with the Saudi government. Shortly after the Ritz-Carlton purge in April 2019, Al Tayyar was renamed as the Seera Group.

The new company replaced the management team, and Tayyar no longer served on the board.

Abdul Majeed said he spoke to Tayyar after his release.

“He told me honestly, ‘You can’t stay here anymore because this company has been taken over by MBS,’” recalled Abdul Majeed, using the acronym for crown prince.

“We talked for almost an hour. (Tayyar) said, “It will be better if you rethink everything because there is new management.” And he was right.”

Abdul Majeed said that under the new management, the situation had changed rapidly, including work flow, recruitment, staffing and compensation structure.

He added that senior figures associated with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) were involved in running the company.

“Every night I cried”

For Abdul Majeed, everything came to a head when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out.

“In March 2020, the decision was made to terminate the contracts of many foreign employees. I was one of them.”

Despite forty years of service, no reason was given for terminating the contract.

Abdul Majeed accepted his fate and decided to return to India to take care of his wife who was about to undergo critical surgery.

“The real test began after the contract was terminated. I still suffer to this day.”

He explained that Seera Group had taken his passport and stated that he would have to work without pay to help collect outstanding debts from the company’s clients.

Out of good will, he continued working for two months, calling customers and chasing payments. Many customers – such as hotels and airlines – have been unable to pay due to the devastating impact of the pandemic.

“Seera Group told me I had to pay off all my debts. I told them it wasn’t my job. I am not a company owner. I am not a shareholder. I’m just an employee.

“It is not my responsibility to accept payments from business accounts. This is the responsibility of the finance department. If they fail to obtain payment as agreed, it is the responsibility of the legal department to sue the client,” he says.

His protests did not help.

Seer’s group told him that his clients owed him $100,000 and that he could not return to India until it was paid. He quickly realized that he would have to pay this amount out of his own pocket.

He said the situation was reminiscent of modern-day slavery.

“They told me if I didn’t pay I would be behind bars for the rest of my life.”

“Every night I woke up and cried. You have no idea what I’ve been through.

Frightened and threatened, Abdul Majeed called his son in India and asked him to start the process of selling their family home in Hyderabad.

“We made a big loss on the sale because we needed the money immediately. I also took loans from several family members.

“My demand is justice”

After selling most of the family’s assets and taking out numerous loans, Abdul Majeed managed to raise $100,000.

Once he had paid, he was finally given his passport and allowed to leave – but not before he was dealt the final blow.

“I had to pay for the plane ticket home myself. Airline tickets are part of the contract, the employer must provide them,” he said.

After forty years of service – ending with six months of unpaid work, threats and forced debt – Abdul Majeed returned to India in September 2020.

He returned to his name without money and with a deep sense of injustice.

Abdul Majeed began writing letters and emails to Seera Group, PIF and Mohammed bin Salman’s office. He received no response.

He contacted Indian Prime Minister Narendara Modi’s office, which forwarded his case to the Indian embassy in Riyad. The embassy asked Seera Group to resolve the matter, but the travel agency did not respond.

The Indian government considered the case closed.

Abdul Majeed then moved to Chicago, where one of his sons, Ahmed Abdelumer, works as a delivery driver.

He sought justice in the United States by contacting Saudi Ambassador Reema bint Bandar Al Saud and even visited the Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C., but received no response.

Three months ago, the Abdul Majeed case was like this underlined in the letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, signed by six members of Congress.

The letter raised issues of human trafficking and mistreatment of migrant workers in the Persian Gulf countries.

“(Abdul Majeed) was repeatedly denied the opportunity to leave the country despite repeated requests to attend to his wife’s deteriorating health, ultimately paying the company premiums out of his own pocket to finally return home,” lawmakers, including Ilhan Omar, told Blinken.

MEE contacted Seera Group and the Saudi Embassy in London but received no response.

Four years after bankruptcy one of the largest travel agencies in the Middle East, Abdul Majeed is still looking for answers.

“My demand is justice,” he says. “I’m not going to stay silent. I will continue to fight for justice. Everyone needs to know the true face of MBS.”

“They must not repeat this mistake with any other migrant worker.”