Tuesday 24 / June / 2025
Muscat: A business owner has been fined nearly OMR140,000 and sentenced to three years in prison for violating Omani labour laws, according to the Ministry of Manpower.
Authorities said that the convicted businessman let his employees work for others illegally.
In a statement, the Ministry said: “The Court of First Instance in Salalah issued a judgement sentencing a citizen to three years in prison and a fine of OMR139,000 as a result of violating provisions concerning the organisation of labour force in the private sector.”
The ministry added that the individual was among five citizens previously referred to the Public Prosecution’s office by the Ministry of Manpower, represented by the Directorate General in Salalah, after it was proven to the ministry that each of them had more than 100 commercial records with a total of 3,816 expatriate workers. This included 1,560 expat workers with expired labour cards.
An official at the Ministry of Manpower told the Times of Oman: “Hiring expat workers illegally is punishable by Omani law. This is not the first time that Omani courts issued such verdicts as some employers were jailed and fined for the same reason.”
“Employers who refuses to pay fines to the ministry for violating the labour law by hiring illegal expats or laid-off workers - the case will be referred to Public Prosecution for further investigation and trial.” He added: “In this case, the employer had so many workers who had expired labour cards, which is considered a violation for the labour law in the country. The amount of the fine is assessed by the court itself, not by the ministry. This large fine was due to the large number of expats working illegally.”
Social welfare members in Oman also said it was important for expats in the country to follow the law. Karunakar Rao, the convener of the Indian Social Club’s Karnataka Wing, said: “Following the law is imperative. You must follow the law because it is the law of the country and you must respect it. Entering Oman itself means we are bound to follow the laws. That is our mandate. Wherever you go, you must honour the law. If you are in India, you must honour the law there.
“If you are here in Oman, you must honour the law here. If the government is issuing any guidelines you must follow them,” he added.
“Given that the Holy Month of Ramadan is here, we must respect the customs and the codes in Oman and we must respect the culture. This also shows that we are cultured and civilised and that we are willing to respect the law as well.”
A financial investigator in Oman added that those who committed such crimes risked facing punishment from the country’s legal system, in addition to having the reputation of his company spoiled, a consequence that would affect him for a long time.
He told Times of Oman: “Working illegally in the country in terms of repercussions means you are bypassing all the rules and regulations, and this can cause severe penalties.
This is not a good sign for recruitment agencies and other regular companies, and this would hit the reputation of all companies in the country.
