Q: Hi! I have a brother who has an unpaid loan way back in 2010. Now he wants to return here to the UAE. How can we settle it knowing that the bank had merged with another bank? And how can we check if there is still a case filed under his name? Thanks in advance!

Q: Hi I acquired a loan in the UAE and made timely payments. But due to some emergency, I had to fly back to my country and lost my job. Although the gratuity amount was paid to the bank which was around 50% of the actual amount, the remaining amount is still around 260k. I had a life-threatening accident and was not able to travel back and it's almost 6 years. I keep getting regular messages from the bank about the repayment and filing a case against me. I am planning to fly back to Dubai to search for a job as I was jobless for 4 years due to the accident and covid. What are the consequences I will face and how can I avoid them? And what will be the best scenario for me? Regards A. B.

Q: Hello, I was living in Abu Dhabi for 5 years and I was made redundant by my company in the Covid-19 crisis in May 2019. I had no choice but to leave the country as I was not able to find another job during the period of 1 month that my residence visa was still valid. I had a loan with an outstanding amount of around 300.000 AED that I could not repay. I was contacted by many debt collectors to repay, and I showed good intention and offered to pay small amounts on monthly basis from my country of residence as the salary averages were much lower than those in the UAE. My offers however were rejected. Assuming that I would like to travel back to the UAE and find a job, what should I expect after the legal changes that occurred at the beginning of 2022? am I to serve any jail time, or will there be any fine of any kind? And how long is the period for such cases to be written off if that is a possibility? Thank you for your time!

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.

The provisions of this law, promulgating UAE Civil Code, govern the civil transactions in the United Arab Emirates. The commercial transactions remain subject to the laws and regulations applicable in their regard.

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.