Q: A cheque bounced with an amount more than 1 million Dirhams but there's no legal agreement with the party. Questions: 1. If a case is filed against the cheque issuer, what will be the court stand? 2. How much time does it take by the court for judgement? 3. In whose favour will the judgement be? 4. Can the cheque issuer file a case against the borrower as there's no agreement with the party? And what will be the outcome?

Q: Hi, Could you please let me know what is the rule for cheque return that we give for our loan guarantee? We took a loan one year ago for AED 770,000 and now we can not pay the instalments. Our cheque is AED 1,200,000 and the bank deposited the cheque. They said they will open a case in Sharjah, and we don't know the cheque return rules in Sharjah. My husband is out of the country now and he wants to come back, but we're afraid if they open the case in Sharjah as we heard that they keep the person in jail until returning the full amount. Our loan was 4 years and the instalment was AED 25000. We paid 8 instalments. Now, the cheque returned and we don't know whether they've opened a case or no and if they opened what we should do. Please advise me if it's better for my husband not to come back to the UAE or to Sharjah. Also, will they fine him around AED 20000 without jail or they will keep him in jail. Thanks and regards

Q: Hi, I needed to know if the court issues a judgment of 2 or 3 months jail term in cheque bounce case, is there a way to reverse the judgment or avoid the sentence? Possibly if the creditor withdraws the case? I have received a judgment of a jail term of 2 months for AED 1 Million security cheque bounce against a loan that is 75% paid off and a 3 months jail term for multiple cheques to a single supplier valued at AED 48,000.00 approx. What can I do avoid jail terms and wondering how AED 48k cumulative value would result in jail term? Appreciate a solution for this. Thanks.

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.

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 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.