Q: My brother was the director of a company in Dubai with 16 per cent shareholding with 5 other partners. They had a general manager who had signing authority. The general manager signed cheques worth AED 7 million and disappeared. My brother lives in Kuwait. What is the impact of the bounced cheque on my brother?

Q: Hello Madam, My question is on a company cheque issued by the previous signatory (last 3 years new signatory, the previous signatory is absconding, not now in license). If this cheque is returned, is it the responsibility of the new signatory or the company?

Q: I have taken a loan for a company which I was working as an Accountant. Whether I am liable for such a loan for the company? The bank has given the loan in the name of the company and the bank has taken a security cheque from my employer. In such a situation, whether any GCC ban will be there as I have left the country also?

Q: Dear sir/madam, Please advise me in regards to my commercial banks! A partial case in Dubai Courts in which my company (first defendant) took a property loan from a bank (plaintiff) in January 2015. I had signed all bank-related documents including the personal guaranty form as a manager (second defendant) of the company holding 40% shares along with my partner (third defendant) holding 60% shares in a Free Zone Company. I was asked to resign with immediate effect in December 2016 and left the company completing all necessary handovers of 40% shares to a natural person. I hold all transfer documents attested by the free zone authority and their legal translation which were submitted to the court as a memorandum. Today was my first hearing and the court decided and ended the litigation obligating all defendants jointly and severally to pay the balance amount to the plaintiff and 5% legal interest and attorneys fees. Please advise on the next procedure I can follow to request the court to remove my name. Should I approach the bank?

Q: In 2020, I was the manager of a company that had an office in a free zone in Dubai. At the time, the partners did not have bank accounts/cheques in Dubai, and to make payments, 4 cheques from a third person were provided, who in addition to the 4 cheques, also provided an undertaking letter attached to the lease agreement. We carefully pay this person the amount related to the lease, as well as the value of all cheques. However, this person did not honor the payment of the last cheque. Now the free zone has opened a case against the company for the non-payment of rent. My question is, will the company be held responsible? If the company is held liable, am I as a manager liable in some way? And will I be responsible for paying this personally? The company no longer exists and I am the only partner who still lives here, in addition to having been the general manager.

Q: Dear Lawyers, How to Calculate Jail Terms I have 4 execution cases against a company and want to put the manager in jail. I also have an execution against the manager directly, in his personal capacity. Another creditor has two execution cases against the same company and wants to put the same manager in jail. The other creditor also has an execution case against the same manager, in his personal capacity. Suppose we, two creditors, succeed in getting 6 arrest warrants against this manager since he is the manager of the company. And we also succeed in getting two arrest warrants due to personal execution directly against the manager in his personal capacity. Question 1: Can the same one month in jail be counted against multiple execution cases? Question 2: Can the manager be in jail for 3 months maximum in his role as manager, and then 3 months contiguously in his personal capacity? Question 3: Is it better to stagger the application for arrest warrants, or is it better to apply for all 8 arrest warrants at the same time?

Q: I was registered as a manager or signatory for a company. One year ago, I resigned, lost access to the company’s documentation and bank account, and had my visa canceled by the employer. Currently, I am working in a new company in the UAE with a new visa. I recently revealed that my name is still on my old company’s trade license for an unknown reason. I was registered as a manager in that company based on a Power of Attorney. I am not an owner or a shareholder of that company, and my name is not mentioned in the MoA of my old company. To my knowledge, the owners and managers threw up their company, left the UAE, and did not care about the company’s fate. The company has never operated and has no money in the bank account. What should I do to remove my name from the trade license if the owners do not respond to my messages? Are there any consequences for me after the expiration of the trade license and its blacklisting?

Over the years the UAE has become a centre of trade and commerce for the Middle East, thanks to its strategic location, excellent connectivity and extensive services to assist with all aspects of business. According to the World Bank's 2016 report, the UAE has ranked 31st in the global index of ease of doing business. This encourages more entrepreneurs to set up different kinds of business entities in the country.

In the UAE, cheque bounce is a very frequent problem faced by people during their span in the country. It is covered under the purview of Commercial Transactions Law, and legal implications/penalties can be financially severe and daunting for more “serious” offenses. Bounced cheque issues may arise in a variety of commercial transactions, including but not limited to, companies’ exchanges, bank loans, property rents or purchases, and individual transactions.

In view of the fact that the manager is primarily the point of reference for the company in the business streets, he is generally authorized by a power of attorney provided by the shareholders of the company or via the MOA of the company. In certain cases exceeding the powers given to the manager may make the manager, or the LLC itself, liable, depending on the nature of the manager’s actions.

This Law applies to merchants, as well as to all acts of commerce carried out in the UAE by any person even though he be not a trader. Commercial matters regarding which specific Federal laws are issued shall be subject to the provisions of such laws, and to the provisions hereof which do not contradict with said laws.

This Law promulgates the Federal Penal Code (Criminal Law) of the United Arab Emirates. Crimes and chastisement punishments shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of this Law and other penal codes.

The provisions of this Law apply to the commercial companies established in the UAE and the foreign companies that have established in the UAE a base to conduct any activity therein or established a branch or representative office. The Law abrogates Federal Law No. (8) of 1984 Concerning Commercial Companies.