The Egyptian consulate general in Jeddah has reached out to Mohammad Al-Arafi, a Saudi national who said that he had been threatened by an employee working for a tourist company in Egypt which specializes in Timeshare, a form of marketing.

Arafi said that he had been threatened for not paying outstanding instalments to the company after the latter reneged on its verbal promises at the time of signing the contract.

“The man told me that he would kidnap me and my family as soon as we arrived at Cairo airport because I hadn’t paid the outstanding instalments to Timeshare,” Arafi said.

Mohammad Al-Arafi said that he visited the Egyptian consulate on being summoned by the Egyptian secretary general, Saeed Abu Al-Saud first by telegram and later by a telephone call.

“I went to the consulate and met the adviser Osama Al-Qadi. I submitted a written complaint in which I gave the details of my story, the preliminary contract with Timeshare, copies of the threat, a plane ticket and copies of our passports,” Al-Arafi said adding that he demanded protection for his family and the arrest of those who intended to cause him harm.

He said that he had asked the adviser to break the contract with the tourist company. The adviser assured him that Saudi-Egyptian relations were excellent and that his complaint had been received. He also said that Al-Arafi could travel to Egypt with his family safely.

Al-Saud confirmed that the citizen had met with Osama Al-Qadi and that his request is being processed.

Al-Saud further informed that the case has been referred to the Egyptian ministries of Interior and Foreign Affairs. “The case has been proven and the Ministry of Interior has issued an instant decision to arrest the perpetrator,” he said.

The accused is an Egyptian national who lives in London. The secretary of the Egyptian Consulate in Jeddah said procedures have been taken against the accused and he will be arrested through Interpol. He also confirmed that the Egyptian Embassy will stand on the side of the Saudi citizens after verifying the accuracy of the information.

Mohammad Al-Arafi said he received threats on his mobile phone from an employee of Timeshare and asked the Saudi Foreign Ministry to protect him and his family.

The issue began when the Egyptian company received a sum of 4,800 Egyptian pounds from the original sum of 37,000 upon signing a contract in return for renting a chalet in the Timeshare system. However, the company failed to abide by the terms of the contract. It stated instead that it had resorted to using threats against Al-Arafi because he wasn’t committed to paying the rest of the dues to the company.