[imagesource:  TikTok / The South African]

Tasneem Moosa, the CEO of South African travel agency Hello Darlings, is under the pump.

News broke last week that hundreds of people had lost out after booking holidays through the agency, and they aren’t going down without a fight.

In fact, more than 200 cases of fraud had already been opened as of Friday, according to Mohamed Faraaz Akoo, the administrator of the Hello Darlings Recovery group on Telegram.

Clients who watched their money disappear have gathered on the app and the group has well in excess of 3 500 members.

You know you’re in the dwang when consumer watchdog and journalist Wendy Knowler enters the mix. In her Sunday Times column, she says she regrets missing an email sent her way in late January, alerting her to what was happening.

As for Moosa, she says she’s not a crook. Rather, she’s just not a very good businesswoman:

In a response purported to have been written by the CEO and shared on social media on Friday, she said she was “not in possession” of any money paid to her for travel…

By trying to offer “affordable travel” to those who could only “realise their travel dreams this way since the costs were so prohibitive”, she said, she either made a loss or broke even.

“We were always in deficit unless we advertised new trips to pay for current trips. While I understand that I ran this business poorly and suffered tremendous trade losses, I have not stolen anybody’s money. I am not on the run with millions.

“I do not have your money. I lost it in poor business dealings and for this I am sorry.

“There is no fraud here, only poor business sense, which is a lesson I will pay for for the rest of my life.”

If you’re “always in deficit” unless you sell new trips to pay for current trips, that sounds a touch like a Ponzi scheme.

Those who are now out of pocket after booking with Hello Darlings say that there’s a combined R100 million that has disappeared.

Moosa says that’s not the case, and claims to have already paid out in excess of R50 million to “well-known people” in recent months.

She also responded to questions put forward by Twitter “anti-crime activist” Yusuf Abramjee:

#HelloDarlings I texted Hello Darlings CEO, Tasneem Moosa, dubbed the Travel Swinder, with questions. She has responded… pic.twitter.com/bW0EymYzPE

— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) March 13, 2022

The role that South African influencers played in promoting Hello Darlings has also come under scrutiny.

A victim interviewed last week said they were encouraged to book a trip after seeing posts from influencers living it up on holiday.

In response, the likes of Aisha Baker (known as ‘bakedonline’) have issued statements:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Aisha Baker (@bakedonline)

Knowler spoke with Otto de Vries, CEO of the Association of Southern African Travel Agents (Asata), regarding various red flags he noticed when looking at the packages offered by companies like Hello Darlings.

You can read the full article here.

Finally, Moosa also appeared on GlowTV/ Laudium Sun in a video uploaded to YouTube yesterday. The write-up says Moosa is “expanding on her statement sent to the Laudium Sun” in conversation with freelance reporter Naadiya Adams:

In the comments section, the outlet admitted that Moosa had been given an easy ride:

It is also our view point like some other readers, that the freelance journalist was not strong enough in the interview, however the journalist felt that she should rather tread softly to at least make Tasneem respond as much as possible, instead of aggravating her & Tasneem then cutting the interview. We see the journalist’s point & thus respect her way of handling the interview.

The general gist can be summed up by another comment – “And the Academy Award for best female performance goes to……”

[source:sundaytimes]