The pair are accused of having traded in 88 companies that employed 1302 expats and allowed them to leave the company and go work for others An expat visa ban was introduced 2018, and has already led to the employment of tens of thousands of locals in the private and public sectors DUBAI: Two Omanis have been prosecuted for allowing more than 1,300 expats to work illegally for other companies, breaking the expat visa ban law that was introduced to lower unemployment among Omani citizens, local daily Times of Oman reported. The Ministry of Manpower say the two Omani nationals had hired workers on so-called ‘free visas’. The pair are accused of having traded in 88 companies that employed 1302 expats and allowed them to leave the company and go work for others. The actions were in violation of national laws aimed at helping Omanis into work. The law states: “Employers are prohibited from allowing expat workers to work for someone else, employing expat workers who have been permitted to work for someone else or are illegally in the Sultanate.” This latest court hearing comes in the midst of the Omanization project. An expat visa ban was introduced 2018, and has already led to the employment of tens of thousands of locals in the private and public sectors. Before Omanization, almost 71 percent of Oman’s labor force were expatriates.