Q: Dear Sir, I had taken a personal loan from a bank of AED 173,000 in 2016 and was paying on time until I lost my job in 2018. The total I paid back is AED 173,875.64, and balance to pay is AED 42,986.90 Currently, I don't have a job and after three months of pending instalment since July 2019, the bank collection agent started calling and saying they will bounce the security cheque. On 8th Oct they had deposited the cheque and bounced and later I saw in internet banking that the cheque number deposited was different from the one which I had signed during the application process. As I have the copy of cheque with me, I talked to the agent after that and they insisted that it was the cheque that I signed and they aren't giving me more clarification on that. Kindly advise, what if they go for a case of the deposited cheque with a different serial number?

Q: I saw a news article that mentioned - the forgery of a tenancy contract (EJARI) is a criminal offense as it is a government document. I have a business contract with an individual who was required to disclose the use of my investment. As part of the disclosure, he shared with me forged Ejari documents. Therefore, I believe he has not only committed forgery but also committed fraud/cheating. Can I file a criminal complaint? Or is my relief only in civil court?

Q: Hi! My cousin has used my name and cheques in order to acquire a flat in Dubai. I haven’t signed any document in person so I guess my signature has been forged (I have given her my cheques though). In 2017, my cheques have bounced and she assured me that she was taking care of everything. However, in the last quarter of 2017, I found out that I already have a police case. I went to the police station and paid for a fine however, I was told that the case has already been submitted to the RDC. Is there a way to lift my travel ban without paying the amount in full (AED 26,000)? I have been trying to reach my cousin for years but she abandoned me and blocked me on all social media sites. I am really struggling and haven’t traveled back home for almost 5 years now. Hope you can help me. Thank you.

Q: Hi all professionals, I lost a civil case against a fraud immigration consultant based in Dubai on 14 March 2024. I was the plaintiff and I had paid AED 24600 to him for migrating to Canada. He submitted a forged document on 7 Dec 2023 with his memo. I replied to that and submitted the original document which I received from the government of Canada the same document which this company had forged. Despite that, the court gave the judgment based on the fake document submitted by the defendant, and it is the final judgment. How can I appeal as I have been told that I can't file an appeal against this final judgment? How can a judge pass judgment on a fake document? Please advise.

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.

There are always conditions where people may fail to provide sufficient documents of a certain business or project they are willing to engage in, so they tend to commit an act of forgery with their documents to meet the requirements. But this act is a crime and it has consequences in law which we will try to cover in this article.

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.

The provisions of this law On Evidence in Civil and Commercial Transactions (Law of Evidence) govern evidence in civil and commercial disputes in the UAE.