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Oman has prohibited network or pyramid marketing in the country on any electronic or non-electronic platform
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Anyone who sells, buys, trades, advertises, or promotes any commodity, product, or service through network or pyramid marketing will be in violation of the ban
Oman has banned any sort of trading through network marketing and pyramid schemes, said local reports on Sunday, August 1.
The authorities will impose a fine of OMR 5,000 (nearly $13,000) on anyone who is found violating this ban, said the reports.
Anyone who sells, buys, trades, advertises, or promotes any commodity, product, or service through network or pyramid marketing could be considered a violator of the law.
Oman’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion is said to have issued a ministerial decision in this regard.
Through it, the government prohibits network or pyramid marketing on any electronic or non-electronic platform.
The decision also says that the OMR 5,000 fine is only for first-time violators, and the penalty amount would be doubled the second time.
The move is expected to be a huge deterrent for fraudulent business models like Ponzi schemes, which rely on members of the scheme adding more people under them in lieu of being paid for them.
While the system may seem lucrative, it is mathematically not sustainable, with the total membership reaching levels of the world population because each step of the pyramid sees exponential growth in the number of members.