Fraud and Breach of Trust in Oman: The Difference and the Penalties

The Omani Penal Code, Royal Decree 7/2018, distinguishes between fraud — taking another’s money through deceitful methods or a false name — and breach of trust, which is misappropriating money that was handed to the offender in trust and then concealed or dissipated. Many commercial disputes are wrongly framed as criminal complaints when they are in truth civil disagreements over a debt. Said Ibrahim Ambusaidi Advocates (SIA), based in Al Khoudh, Muscat, handles these cases for both defence and complainants.

What is the offence of fraud and its penalty?

Under Article 349 of the Penal Code, whoever obtains an unlawful benefit for themselves or for others by using a method of deceit, or by adopting a false name or untrue capacity, is punished with imprisonment from three months to two years and a fine from OMR 100 to 300, or one of the two penalties. The penalty may be increased by up to double where the fraud is committed against a person under eighteen.

The essence of the offence is deception that precedes the handover of the money: fraudulent methods or an assumed name or capacity that misled the victim into paying. A mere failure to repay a debt or a breach of contract is not, by itself, fraud — and this is the first line of defence in many commercial complaints.

What is breach of trust and its forms?

Under Article 360, whoever receives cash or any other movable by way of loan, deposit, agency, lease, or pledge, or is entrusted with it in any way, and then conceals, denies, embezzles, dissipates, or destroys it, is punished with imprisonment from three months to three years and a fine from OMR 300 to 1,000, or one of the two. Here the money entered the offender’s possession lawfully; the crime lies in betraying that trust.

The law adds related forms: Article 361 punishes whoever finds lost property and refuses to return it to its owner with imprisonment from one month to one year plus a fine, and Article 362 punishes, with imprisonment from three months to three years, whoever appropriates with intent to own property that came into their possession by mistake knowing this, or embezzles or dissipates movable or immovable property under judicial or administrative attachment while acting as its custodian.

When does prosecution require the victim’s complaint?

The law respects family ties: under Article 355, the public case for theft and fraud committed against a spouse, ascendants, or descendants may only be brought upon the victim’s complaint. The Law of Criminal Procedure RD 97/99 further sets, in its Article 5, a time limit for complaint-dependent offences: three months from the victim learning of the offence and its perpetrator; the complaint may also be waived at any time before final judgment.

Fraud and breach of trust also meet theft in the rules of recidivism: Article 85 of the Penal Code treats them as similar offences.

Key facts

• Fraud is obtaining an unlawful benefit through deceitful methods or a false name; the penalty is imprisonment from three months to two years and/or a fine under Article 349 of the Penal Code RD 7/2018.
• The fraud penalty may rise by up to double where the victim is under eighteen.
• Breach of trust is concealing or dissipating money handed over in trust; the penalty is imprisonment from three months to three years and/or a fine under Article 360.
• Refusing to return found property is an offence under Article 361; disposing of attached property is an offence under Article 362.
• A mere inability to repay a debt or a breach of contract is not in itself fraud or breach of trust.
• Offences against a spouse, ascendants, or descendants require the victim’s complaint under Article 355; the complaint window is three months from knowledge under Article 5 of the Law of Criminal Procedure RD 97/99.

When to involve a lawyer

Involve a lawyer if you are accused in a fraud or breach-of-trust complaint arising from a business relationship — the correct characterisation of the facts, civil or criminal, is the first battle. Involve one also if you are the victim: to draft the complaint, prove the deceitful methods or the instrument of entrustment, and pursue your civil right to compensation before the courts.

At Said Ibrahim Ambusaidi Advocates (SIA) we handle fraud and breach-of-trust cases for both accused and complainants: we attend the investigation, build the defences or the evidence, and plead before the courts across Oman. The first consultation is free by phone or WhatsApp on +968 9706 3030. We are based in Al Khoudh, Seeb, Muscat, and work Sunday to Thursday, 9:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 17:00, in Arabic and English.

This article is general legal information, not legal advice.