Central Bank of Oman warns against unlicensed money collection

Muscat: The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has warned the public against dealing with the money transfer services that are not licensed by the Central Bank.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the CBO said, “It has come to the notice of the Central Bank of Oman that there are non-licensed shops and individuals in the Sultanate who are engaged in the conduct of international money transfer through an application called, “Bkash”.

“The Central Bank of Oman, hereby, calls for the public to be cautious and withhold from utilising the money transfer services offered by shops and persons who are not licensed by the Central Bank. The conduct of money transfer business by non-licensed entities/individuals is illegal and incriminated pursuant to Oman laws, and customers depending on such illegal channels are vulnerable to the fraud risk and they may lose their hard-earned money,” it said.

The Central Bank has also warned all shops and individuals that the collection and transfer of money without a license are considered as violations under the provisions of the Banking Law, the National Payment System Law and the Anti Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Law, and whoever commits any of such violations shall be subject to a number of punishments, including imprisonment and fines.