Q: 1. Can a non-resident person give a personal guarantee for bank debt in the UAE? 2. Is a son liable for a debt of his father?  

Q: Hi, During my employment with my Company, I had signed a few guarantee for a finance taken by the company amounting to more than AED 100 Million. As I was the signatory to that particular Bank account I was asked to sign the security Cheque. I have resigned 6 months ago and the cheque is still with the bank; will I be held responsible in the event the bank takes legal action if the company does not repay the loan?

Q: My husband wrote a guarantee cheque for a friend who was in jail. He had a reputable business and my husband assumed upon his release his friend would be able to access his frozen account and make repayments. The so-called friend ran away and left my husband with a bounced cheque of AED 1048000. There is a big case against his ex-friend from many he has defrauded, it has been in the newspapers and affected many innocent people. The cheque has obviously bounced and a case has been filed with the police. We never took a penny of this money and have all our statements to prove this. Unfortunately, the payee doesn't care and wants money regardless, even though he knows the culprit has run away. 1. What is the process? 2. What are our options? 3. Could we get away with a fine? 4. If we present all the people who have been defrauded by this ex-friend to the court and our bank statements as proof, do we have a chance? 5. Will he go to jail and what kind of sentence is likely?

Q: My father and his partner own a technical services LLC company and they went into losses. I used to help them out to get some contract on their name to grow the business. I am having my visa of real estate manager, but now my father and his partners are in the home country and somehow people have started calling me for some payoffs and recovery. What can be the way out as legally I have no rights in the company?

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.

This Law applies to merchants, as well as to all acts of commerce carried out in the UAE by any person even though he be not a trader. Commercial matters regarding which specific Federal laws are issued shall be subject to the provisions of such laws, and to the provisions hereof which do not contradict with said laws.