Country Reports on Terrorism 2008 - Oman

Oman promoted religious moderation and tolerance and proactively implemented counterterrorism strategies and cooperated with neighboring countries to prevent terrorists from entering or moving freely throughout the Arabian Peninsula. To better coordinate efforts to prevent terrorist-related activities, the government began the formation of a national terrorism operations and analysis center. While Oman is not a major financial center and did not have a significant money laundering problem, its financial system remained vulnerable to criminal activity. The government established a Financial Intelligence Unit attached to the Directorate of Financial Crimes of the Royal Oman Police and continued to work towards finalizing a draft counterterrorism financing law. In September, a Ministerial Decree strengthened the Oman Program for Anti-Money Laundering (by requiring certain non-banking establishments and companies to verify the identity of their clients and document financial transactions.

Oman's long coastline and relatively porous borders remained vulnerable to illegal transit by migrant workers, smugglers, human trafficking victims, terrorists, and individuals involved in the traffic and sale of illegal drugs. The government was concerned about the steady flow of illegal immigrants throughout the year attempting to enter Oman, often in transit to other destinations in the Arabian Peninsula, particularly the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The majority of the illegal immigrants apprehended were from Pakistan and Afghanistan. Somalis continued to attempt to cross the border into Oman from Yemen. The Omani government actively sought training and equipment through the U.S. and British military to support its efforts to control its land and maritime borders. U.S. military assistance was used to bolster coastal patrol operations and make Oman's remote inland borders with Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE less porous and easier to observe.