The Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs recently published last month in the Official Gazette a brand new Regulation on the Supervision of Lawyers, Law Offices, and Civil Law Firms regarding Anti-money Laundering and Counter-terrorist Financing. This regulation is part of a suite of regulations that the Omani government issued last month to comply with the latest recommendations made by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). This particular regulation updates the regulation from 2021 covering the same topic. Failure to comply with the new regulation exposes lawyers, law offices, and civil law firms to penalties including fines up to 100,000 Rial Omani and the suspension of their licences.
The regulation is very descriptive and covers in detail a number of provisions that lawyers, law offices, and civil law firms need to comply with in regard to risk assessment requirements; due diligence measures; continuous application of due diligence measures; internal policies, controls, and procedures; reporting requirements; and restrictions on the use of third parties for client due diligence.
These provisions include a minimum set of steps for risk assessment and due diligence, a requirement to designate a compliance officer, record retention periods, and legal requirements to report suspicious transactions of clients in certain circumstances.
Failure to comply with the regulation exposes lawyers, law offices, and civil law firms to the penalties prescribed by article 52 of the Law of Anti-money Laundering and Counter-terrorist Financing promulgated by Royal Decree 30/2016.
It is worth noting that the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs has recently created an anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing office dedicated to the enforcement of this law.
You can read this new regulation in full in English on Decree.