The Public Prosecution Department said 97.9 per cent of the cases filed in 2024 were settled. The cases were termed closed through final settlement or referral or issuance of penal order.
The success rate stands at 97.6 per cent for cases in which the court followed the actions of the public prosecution, either by condemnation or by upholding the decisions for filing.
This was unveiled at the annual press conference on Tuesday.
Speaking at the press conference, Attorney General Nasr bin Khamis al Sawa’i said that 32 of the rulings pertaining to public funds were issued in 2024 and 2025.
Crimes involving violation of Labour Law topped the list of crimes reported in the country in 2024, and as many as 12,407 cases were reported in this category, followed by cases involving bounced cheques (9,699), according to the Public Prosecution Department.
Other types of crimes which were reported in the country included cases involving public funds and money laundering in 2024 stood at 192, including 33 cases of felony and 159 cases of misdemeanour, while the number of false cheques and fraud cases stood at 132.
He said that the country saw a rise in the number of cases reported to the Public Prosecution in 2024 by 29.5 per cent compared to the same in 2023. The total number of cases filed in 2024 stood at 46,359, including cases of violations, administrative complaints and other incidents.
He added that 25 per cent of the cases that were referred to the courts in 2023 were settled and related fines stood at RO 1.43 million, while instances of restitution and confiscation stood at RO 15.407 million - together making a total of RO 16,841,410.
The public prosecution appointed 73 public prosecution members specialised in juvenile cases to operate in various governorates of Oman, said Al Sawa’i, noting that steps are underway to raise the number in future.
He added that, despite the rise in number of cases, the achievement rate stood at 97.9 per cent.
Al Sawa’i affirmed the department's readiness to handle false claims filed via social media sites that target Oman’s “national fabric or accomplishments”, noting that vigilant teams are monitoring social media sites that publish such false or forged content.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Rashid bin Obaid al Kaabi, Assistant Attorney General, said that the number of crimes against children in 2024 grew to 1,325 cases, including harassment, physical assault, other forms of violence and exposing the underaged to juvenile delinquency.
The number of cases filed with the department in 2024 grew by 22.5 per cent over the figures of 2023. The total number of cases filed in 2024 (46,359) included 43,957 cases of misdemeanour, 2,281 felonies and 121 reports of violations, administrative complaints and other incidents.
The number of defendants during the past year stood at 58,858, among them 89.2 per cent were men, 1.8 per cent were minors and 46.8 per cent were foreigners. The number of defendants registered a rise of 23.5 per cent over 2023 figure.
Muscat Governorate registered the largest number of cases (20,852 cases), followed by Al Batinah North Governorate (7,500 cases) and Dhofar Governorate (4,457 cases).
Statistics show that 32,856 cases were forwarded by the Royal Oman Police (ROP), followed by 5,757 cases from the department's e-services portal and 4,142 cases from the Ministry of Labour.
Labour lawsuits topped the list of five most common crimes during 2024 (a total of 12,407 cases), followed by false cheque crimes (9,699 cases), foreign residency law crimes (9,154 cases), fraud crimes (5,343 cases) and theft and extortion crimes (4,002 cases).
As many as 21,414 rulings were issued in 2024, up by 20.1 per cent over the figures of 2023, of which 17,547 rulings were carried out. Settled rulings in 2024 registered an increase of 13 per cent over 2023 figures.
The total number of cases received electronically by the department during 2024 stood at 45,538, up by 24 per cent over 2023 figures. The number of judicial orders amounted to 261,650 against 83,305 investigation reports conducted in 2024.
MODERN TECHNOLOGY
Al Sawa’i pointed out that modern technology, like Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and other tools of modern times, helped chart out the department's course of action, making decisions closer to accuracy. Despite the rise in the number of cases, the achievement rate grew to 97.9 per cent.
RATIO
Men constituted the largest number of defendants with 89.2 per cent of the total, equivalent to 58,858, out of which 1.8 per cent were minors and 46.8 per cent were foreigners. Women comprised 10.8 per cent of the total. However, there has been a rise in the number of defendants by 23.5 per cent when compared with 2023 figures.
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