The possibility of facing a jail term in case of big loan default - Q&A - Legal Advice Middle East

Question

Q: We took a loan one year ago for AED 770,000. The cheque returned and we don't know whether they've opened a case or no. Will they fine him around AED 20000… A: If the amount of the dishonoured cheque is less than AED 200,000, the drawer will not be imprisoned and will only be subject to a fine…

Yousif Hussein Al Sahlawi · Accepted Answer

Hi The lack of sufficient funds in the bank account could ensure criminal proceedings against the drawer of cheques. There are two forms of liabilities associated with dishonoured cheques in the UAE. The first one is criminal by virtue of the provisions of Article 401 of the Penal Code, which lists 5 forms of violations that may lead to imprisonment and/or a fine. Dishonoured cheques used to lead to imprisonment (usually of one to three months, but could reach up to 3 years) or a fine imposed upon any person who fails to honour a cheque or commits an act to avoid the payment of a cheque (this used to range between AED 1,000 to AED 30,000). This was used by creditors as a significant element to pressurize debtors to settle the amount of the cheque to avoid imprisonment. However, pursuant to Dubai Law No. 1 of 2017, the law was amended and now if the amount of the dishonoured cheque is less than AED 200,000, the drawer will not be imprisoned and will only be subject to a fine of not more than AED 10,000. Once the said fine is paid, the debtor’s criminal liability would be terminated. The second liability is commercial under the provisions of Article 599/2 of the UAE Federal Commercial Transaction Code, pursuant to which, the drawer of a cheque, or whoever orders another to draw it on his behalf, is obliged to deliver sufficient funds to pay such cheque. We can check for you if the case is opened as of now or not. For this, you need to buy our service from this portal and we can provide the required service. After checking, we can advise you further on this.

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