Muscat: The Muscat Primary Court recently upheld the conviction of more than 20 civil servants and businessmen in the high-profile case known in local media as the ‘oil and gas corruption case’.
The court had earlier issued its verdicts setting out stiff jail terms for the guilty and imposed fines amounting to 8 million Omani riyals.
Government source told Azamn, a local daily newspaper, that no new cases related to corruption in the oil and gas sector have been registered with the public prosecution. The public prosecution is still investigating a case pertaining to diesel smuggling filed last year against some officials in the oil and gas sector.
The sentences come after the government launched a tough anti-corruption campaign that led to the conviction of several officials in the public and private sectors.
Oman is preparing for the initial review next June of the implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which it is looking to ratify in accordance with Royal Decree No. 64/2013. The Convention requires the establishment of an independent anti-corruption body.
Oman was placed 64th in the global Corruption Perceptions Index for 2014, slipping three places after it was ranked 61st in 2013.
In 2014, the Muscat Primary Court convicted the former minister of Commerce and Industry, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Transport and Communication and the chief executive officer of the Oman Oil company of corruption.
