Collecting funds without permission illegal in Oman

Muscat: Collecting funds as donations by showing videos or images of families and individuals and the conditions they are living in is a criminal offence, the Ministry of Social Development said.

In a statement, the ministry said, "The Ministry wishes to draw the attention of citizens and residents to the necessity of adhering to the regulations in force for collecting money from the public, especially through social media and to not collect donations from the public by any means without obtaining a license to do so from the Ministry."

"Defamation of families and individuals by posting videos of them showing details of their living and housing conditions with a view to asking people to collect money is prohibited. The Ministry confirms that such matters are criminal acts."

The Ministry called on citizens and residents not to respond to calls for donations for any purpose and to make sure that the entity or person has obtained a license to do so from the Ministry of Social Development.