Q: Dear sir/madam, I had 2 cheque bounce cases in the UAE; one in Sharjah and another in Abu Dhabi. The Sharjah case went to court and the judge gave me a 10k AED fine. I paid the fine and the case was closed. The Abu Dhabi case was pending and now due to the new amendment in law, this case is also closed without any fine. Now I want to travel to the UAE on a visit visa, to see if I can find a job or set up a small business and start my life altogether. I have heard that once I enter the UAE, the bank will get to know the same and they will file a civil case and impose a travel ban. Once entered, I will not be able to get out till I clear the payment with the bank. I am ready to have a negotiation with the bank and make the repayment in installment but I don't want to be stuck in the UAE with a travel ban. Please advise on this. Also, I want to check my immigration status - if my travel bans by the cheque bounce cases issued earlier are cleared.

Q: Hi, I have a cheque bounce case filed against me by the bank in Dubai. The bank is not willing to negotiate at all no matter the solution offered. How do I pay the fine to resolve the case with Dubai Police while being outside the country? Will I be able to get a visit visa with a pending criminal case? I would require a visit visa to enter the UAE again. Kindly advise with the possible options to pay the police fine being outside the country. [Cheque value AED 95,000 and the fine is AED 5,000].

Q: Dear sir/madam, After 7 years, I'm planning to travel to Dubai but I have a pending unpaid loan and I'm traveling on a visit visa. After finding a job, I will repay it. Will I have any issues at the airport in Dubai? If yes, what could be?

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.

An interview-format article covering the topic of loans and bounced cheques in the UAE. This is from the legal podcast of lawyer Ludmila Yamalova, the founder of Lawgical with LYLAW.

What shall I do if I have a bounced cheque? You need to contact your lawyer as soon as possible to issue a travel ban against the person who issued the bounced cheque. It should be noted that time plays a very important role in bounced cheque cases.

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.

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.