Swiss help Oman in corruption case

Oman's anti-corruption campaign began following the sultanate's Arab Spring protests in 2011. Keystone

The Swiss attorney general’s office has confirmed to swissinfo.ch that it is helping Oman investigate alleged corruption in the country’s national oil company and oil ministry.

The case is part of a campaign started in the sultanate by its leader Qaboos bin Said Al Said following protests around the country in 2011, similar to those held elsewhere in the region during the Arab Spring.

A law enforcement source told Reuters that Switzerland was assisting in the corruption case due to the involvement of Swiss financial institutions.

In February of this year, a court in Oman upheld a conviction involving 20 civil servants and businessmen involved in what is locally known as the “oil and gas corruption case”. The verdicts included stiff jail terms and fines amounting to 8 million Omani rials (CHF20,142,000).

The state oil company’s CEO was sentenced to 23 years in jail for taking bribes, abuse of office and money laundering.

In an email message to swissinfo.ch, the Office of the Attorney General wrote that “In connection with these corruption investigations the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) is granting judicial mutual assistance to the authorities of the Oman. The cooperation is working very well.”

Switzerland is also cooperating with Brazil in investigations there into the national oil company, Petrobras, and the major construction firm, Odebracht. Swiss attorney general Michael Lauber confirmed on Monday that his office was working with “colleagues” in Brazil and Oman, during an international prosecutors’ convention in Zurich.