Q: I filed a police case against an individual who borrowed money from me.  I have both his personal cheques and company cheques for the amount. He got a fine and was released from custody in a criminal case. Can I add his other company cheques that also bounced in the same case? Also, will he get a prison sentence if I file a complaint on his personal cheques?

Q: Bounced cheque in Dubai - how can funds be recovered? I am no longer a resident there.

Q: For a 100,000 bounced cheque, the decision from the criminal court is 20,000 fine and pay the full amount. My question is that, before the civil case is made, does the travel ban still exist or it's removed after the sentence from the criminal court? Should an agreement be made between two parties to avoid the civil case (need to pay to the civil court)? Is the fee of making a civil case required to be paid by the people who made the bounced cheque?

Q: A company owes me 3 million dirhams. Due to payment difficulties, I offered them a discount of 1 million dirhams provided they keep up to an agreed payment plan which was sent to them and which I have a copy of. Now, it has been over a year since they haven’t honoured the payment plan. Can I file a case against them claiming the current outstanding plus the discount that I gave them?

Q: Dear all, Greetings, A company issued me a post-dated cheque but when I went to the bank to cash it, It turned out that there were insufficient funds. I have reported the case to the Dubai police but still, nothing happened. What should I do next? Will I get my money at the end? When may I get my money as I really need it? Thanks in advance

Q: Dear All, Greetings, A company I made a business with issued me a cheque with insufficient funds and I reported the case to Dubai Police. Kindly be noted that the company license will end on 26/01/2021, so would I be able to file a civil case against the company to get my dues after that date? And what will happen if I or the issuer of the cheque leave UAE? Am I able to file a civil case from my home country? Thanks in Advance!

Q: Is there a difference between a bounced cheque of a company vs an individual? Is the procedure for filing a complaint and recovery the same for both?

Q: Hi Mr. Ibrahim, If you have time, I need your opinion on my question. I decide to move a case I need to do it with someone who knows the local law. I have a bounced cheque from a financial institution in the UAE in the amount of 550,000 AED. The CEO who gave me the cheque closed the account after issuing the cheque showing proof that his intention was not to pay. When I deposited the cheque, he requested a 2 weeks period to pay me 20% of the amount and begged to wait and not to file a case as he will pay the rest by mid-January. I have 2 questions: 1- I know that there are changes to the law effective 2nd January, would these changes affect the fact that the cheque bounced in December? 2- Is partial payment a way to block the case and take it to loops for years?

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.

As the civil and commercial transactions in the UAE have been growing rapidly, and due to replacing cash with other financial instruments such as cheques for big amounts of money, this had caused some hiccups at times leading to criminal and civil consequences on the person who defaults on fulfilling obligations.

يلعب الشيك دوراً مهماً في الحياة اليومية سواء في ميدان المعاملات التجارية أو في ميدان المعلامات المدنية باعتباره أداة وفاء والتزام تحل محل النقود في التعامل بين الافراد. ونظراً لهذه الأهمية فقد أصبح أكثر الأوراق التجارية انتشاراً وتداولاً بين الناس، على الرغم من حداثته نوعاً ما. فالشيك لم يبق كما كان في بداية عهده أداة لسحب الودائع المصرفية لحساب الساحب ذاته، بل أصبح أداة وفاء تحل محل النقود سواء على النطاق الداخلي بالنسبة للمعاملات التي يقوم بها الأفراد داخل الدولة فحسب وزادت أهميته.

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 law promulgates UAE Civil Procedures Code (Civil Procedure Law) which governs civil procedures in the United Arab Emirates, including the prosecution before the courts, litigation and execution.

The provisions of this law, promulgating UAE Civil Code, govern the civil transactions in the United Arab Emirates. The commercial transactions remain subject to the laws and regulations applicable in their regard.

The provisions of this Decree by Law amend the Federal Law No. (18) of 1993 by replacing Clause (4) of Article (379) as well as Articles (600), (617), (641), (642), (643), (644), and adding new articles numbered (635) Bis, (641) Bis (1), (641) Bis (2), (641) Bis (3), (641) Bis (4), (643) Bis (1), (643) Bis (2), (644) Bis (1) and (644) Bis (2). The Decree-Law also repeals Articles (401), (402) and (403) of the Federal Law No. (3) of 1987.

The provisions of this Federal Decree-Law No. (31) of 2021 Promulgating the Crimes and Penalties Law, known as the "New UAE Penal Code", governs criminal actions in the United Arab Emirates. The New Penal Code repeals the previous UAE Penal Code (Federal Law No. (3) of 1987 Promulgating the Penal Code).