Q: My cousin who had taken flats has a criminal case and case filed at the Rental Dispute Centre. The landlord used his guarantee cheques (empty & signed) to file the criminal case. But the amount is huge and not true because part of that has been paid. Since he is overstaying because of this case, he plans to surrender to police and hopefully pay a fine or a short jail term, as he is not able to pay the landlord the amount. Will the amnesty help his situation in reducing the jail term? Is the case filed with Rental Dispute Centre considered a civil case? What if the case has been forwarded to court with a judgement of a 1-year term, will he serve the term or can just pay a fine? By the way, the amount of 2 cheques was more than 200k for each cheque. What should he do to solve this problem? Would really appreciate your prompt response.

Q: Hi I have a loan with a bank amounting to AED 165,000 but due to redundancy, I lost my job and was not able to pay the installment. When I got the gratuity, the bank deducted the amount of AED 51,000 at once from the total outstanding. Today, almost three months have passed, and now they are threatening me to file a civil case for the remaining amount of AED 112,000. Can you please guide me on what actions they can take? In case of a civil case, how much fine I need to pay? And for the mentioned amount, do I have to face a jail term?

Q: Hi Sir, Please, I need your help. I had a loan from FGB bank. I almost paid instalments for three years. Now, I am not in that condition to pay. There are 3 instalments due and I am getting calls from the collection and they are about to file a case. Could you please help me to know the penalty I may get, as my outstanding amount is just AED 24K? I have an Abu Dhabi visa, and they threatened to file a case in Sharjah.

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 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).