Questions & Answers - Legal Advice Middle East

Registration of a smart application company in Bahrain

Q: I am Lebanese and would like to start my unregistered-yet app development company, IdeatoApp, in Bahrain. How easy is it and what are the requirements?

Withdrawal request of funds not processed by a trading company

Q: From my advice, one of my clients put money in a trading company nearly 1M $ in his own account and in his 3 more sub accounts. Given the fact that a Muslim trader is forbidden by his religion to charge or earn interest, well, the solution to this dilemma is to trade the forex market with a swap free trading account. My client put money and started trading in forex. During these 4 months of trading, he had many deposits and withdrawal and during this period he lost 800$ hundred thousand in his trading style. After 4 months, when the client gave a withdrawal request of 400K $ in one a/c and 300k $ in his another a/c which all of total 700K$ withdrawal on 16th May 2019. They said in process and till now it`s 29th May 2019, and my client has not received any money to his a/c.

Bank request to convert the bank account after leaving the UAE

Q: Hi Harry, I`m lucky you are online. I`m a GCC citizen and worked in the UAE until a few years ago and went back home. I still have a housing loan which I have been paying instalments regularly. The bank called me and asked why my salary was not being deposited into my account for the last 3 years. When I told them I had left, they insisted I go to them and they change my account from a salaried to an international account and in the meantime, my account would be frozen. I`m worried if I go back they will force me to accept higher payments when the account is converted and I desperately need advice on how to deal with this. Can they put a travel ban on me if I don`t agree to pay a higher rate?

Claiming refund in off-plan properties for area variations

Q: I bought two off-plan apartments from a developer. Later I found that the covered area given in the "Sale and Purchase Agreement" (SPA) is 20% more than the area calculated from design drawings provided by the developer. The units are ready for handover now and the final area is as per drawings i.e. less than that given in the SPA. The developer is adjusting the price for anything below 95% of the SPA area as the SPA allows 5% downward variation. As per my understanding, the developer already knew that the area is less and they exaggerated the area in the SPA. They also made a false statement of the area in the SPA. This should be a type of fraud or cheating. I have been writing this to the developer for the last two years but without any response. I want the units to be cancelled with a refund of the full amount and necessary compensation. Please advise the way forward.

Criminal and civil liability for unpaid loans in the UAE

Q: Hi, I had a car loan in the UAE in 2012 and I could not settle the amount. The bank filed a case and I was sentenced to jail for one month. After one month, I was released from jail and I left the UAE. I want to know if I come back to Dubai, will I be arrested again for a civil case?

Consequences of the non-payment of rental cheques

Q: I have a rental dispute with my previous landlord of AED 40000 and he went to RDC. I was still unable to pay him though I negotiated for instalments. Now, he has presented a bounced cheque too. What are the legal procedures both criminal and civil in this matter? If I go to the police and pay the court fine, can all this matter be resolved and the travel ban lifted?

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How to lift a lifetime ban to enter the country again

Q: My father was a taxi driver in the UAE and he worked here for 7 years. One day, a passenger sat in the car and put alcohol bottles in the back of the car. My father wasn`t aware of that. He got a call from its resources that CID is following the car. He ran away and CID caught my father. They put a lifetime ban on him and was deported to country. My question is how can we lift this type of ban?

Cheque bounce to supplier and its consequences in Sharjah

Q: Hi, I have a cheque bounce case in Sharjah for AED 141,000. Will the case be automatically transferred to the court? Can I pay a fine to close the criminal case and settle later with my supplier? Thanks

Refusing to return a security cheque after securing the loan with another

Q: I issued a security cheque to my company owner for another employee loan who did not have a bank account at that time. Now, the same employee has a bank account and a cheque book and he has issued cheque against his loan to the company, to which I issued cheque before. At the back of both cheques (Issued by me and another employee) mentioned that cheques are only for security purpose against the employee loan. My owner is refusing to return back my cheque. What should I do? She is now holding 2 security deposit cheques against 1 single amount of loan.

Intellectual property protection in the laws of Bahrain

Q: What kind of intellectual property protection laws can Bahrain provide to local firms?

Requirements for a virtual CR of dropshipping business

Q: Hi, I am an expat in Bahrain. I am willing to start my dropshipping business and I need a virtual CR because I need to create a business merchant account. Thank you.

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أثر شهادة الشهود في المسائل الجنائية

س: قام شخص بسبي أمام شخصين وقاما بإبلاغي وقالا أنهما سيشهدان معي، وذهبنا إلى النيابة بعريضة لوكيل النيابة. وبعد ذلك اتصلا بي وقالا أنهما غيرا رأيهما بالشهادة، مع العلم أنهما قاما بكتابة العريضة وتوجد أرقامهم وبياناتهم الشخصية. هل يحق لهم ذلك وما العقوبة المترتبة لذلك؟

Holding the gratuity of an employee for a penalty incurred on the company

Q: Thanks. Just one more doubt. My company has incurred some penalty for an order executed 3 years back, and now, when they received the payment they received after deduction of penalty. I was only a part of the delivery but the one in charge overall was our project manager who was taking care of that project and he was in charge of getting the delivery date extended from the customer. Since our project manager is not there in the company as he left the company, and I was under the supervision of the project team only taking care delivery, can the company subject me to penalty and hold my gratuity?

Obligation to pay visa expenses to the employer upon resignation

Q: Hi Mr Hari, Hope you`re doing well. I would like to ask if I`m obliged to pay my employer before I can leave the company. I`m currently employed in a free zone company in Al Qouz for 3 months, and I`m still in the probationary period. I would like to resign because I got another job and also I`m not comfortable with the environment; that`s why I look for another opportunity. Now, my employer would like me to pay a sum of AED 5250. This fine, is it for the visa and Emirates ID? And do I really need to pay them that amount? Thank you and looking forward to hearing from you soon. Best regards,

Applicability of gratuity before completing 5 years of service

Q: Dear Sir, I work for a hospital in Dubai and I submitted my resignation on 21.04.2019 with a one month notice provided. After that, I contacted our HR department but they told me I have to pay 45 days salary and there is no gratuity for less than 5 years. I have already completed 2 years and 11 months, so I kindly request you to advise. Contract type: Unlimited. Visa type: Dependent visa.

Returning a case by the court to the public prosecution

Q: Hi, I am a defendant of a case for drinking alcohol in a public place. The court called us for a hearing session on 14.5.2019. In that, they told us that the judgement will be on 22.5.2019. But when we went on 22.5.2019 and inquired about my judgement, They did not fine and instead they told us that the court has returned this case to public prosecution. My question is, what will the public prosecution do and what do we need to do to further? Mr Hari, I called you once. I hope you remember. Please Explain. Thanks and regards, P. K.