Dubai Debt Collection Service | Debt Collection Lawyers

The debt system dates back to the barter system wherein goods were exchanged for goods till it was replaced by currency. Debt collection is the process of collecting overdue debts owed by the individuals as well as by the companies who have incurred debts. As per the UAE law limitation for filing a legal action for debt recovery is between 2-10 years.

What is the debt collection procedure in Dubai?

Extra-Judicial Process To Recover Debts

UAE debt collection lawyers assists in collecting the debts outside the court. This collection service collects all the information about the debtor and then contact the debtor on behalf of the lender in a very professional manner to remind the debtor about his unpaid debt. This is done mainly via telephone or email. This way they inform and educate the debtor about possible legal consequences of non-payment of debts.

If amicable settlement can’t be reached between the parties, a petition can be filed with Dubai Court. As a first step the Dubai Court will notify the debtor through a registered demand letter which requires him to pay the amount and the late fees within fifteen days. If the debtor does not pay the debt the lawyer will prepare the documents, court memos to be filed before the civil court along with the supportive documents, emails and correspondence that prove creditor is entitled for the outstanding amount. The lawyer will then pursue the hearings and will execute the judgement.

Court Procedure To Recover Debts

When the extra-judicial method to recover debts fails then the only option is to resort to court intervention. To protect the Emiratis and residents who are facing financial troubles to restructure their debt with the possibility of receiving “new concessional loans” Law No. 19 of 2019 was passed. This law gives two options to resolve financial bankruptcy:

Financial Obligations Settlement

The court shall appoint one or more specialists to help the debtor throughout the process and design a settlement plan for the financial obligations based on circumstances. Once this is done, creditor will vote and it will be implemented. The court has the authority to terminate it if:
The debtor abstains from or intentionally damages or conceals some of their possessions, or if the debtor makes false assertions, or if the debts are not paid for one or more than forty consecutive days after maturity. In such case the debtor may file for bankruptcy.

Insolvency and financial liquidation

The second method to recover debts is to liquidate assets and money to repay the debts. This is done when the debtor can’t pay the amount for more than fifty consecutive working days. When the debtor elect’s liquidation, the court appoints a trustee to assist and supervise the liquidation of the debtors’ finances and assets. This is done according to Article 8 of the new debt legislation. Creditors may also seek the liquidation of a debtor’s money in some situations provide liquidation sum does not exceed 200k. So, basically the law provides for two things—It provides a plan for the settlement of the debts and liquidation of the assets in case the debtor fails to pay the debt.

What is sale of debts?

Debt collection might involve sale of a specific share of debt to another company called as debt buyer. Such companies buy debts for a certain percentage of the debt value and pursue the debtor for full balance. In this case the creditor receives direct revenues but cannot recover full amount because of a percentage shared with the company for share of debt.

What is the procedure for bankruptcy of companies?

When a company no longer pays its debts, it can get a fresh start by liquidating its assets to pay their debts or by creating a repayment plan, bankruptcy laws protect those businesses which are troubled financially and fails pay its debts. The UAE Bankruptcy Law No. 9 of 2016 as amended by Law No 23 of 2019 governs bankruptcy on the federal and local level of UAE and is overseen by Ministry of Finance. It does not apply to DIFC and ADGM and individual merchants. Bankruptcy law provides various different options in order to avoid full bankruptcy. The Bankruptcy Law says following procedure must be adopted in case of bankruptcy o companies:

Preventive Composition

The first step in case of bankruptcy of companies is to give the breathing space to it to reach to any settlement with its creditors when it is in its early stage of financial distress. This option is available when the debtor has not defaulted for more than thirty working days with respect to debts owe to the creditor. Only a debtor can make an application to the court for preventive composition. If the application is accepted, a composition trustee will be appointed by the courts to reschedule the debtors debts and enter into a settlement plan with the debtor’s creditors known as the Preventive Composition Plan. The creditors must vote to approve this plan and this plan must not take more than three years from its implementation. And if this plan is approved by the court and the creditors the trustee will supervise the plan throughout its implementation.

Restructuring Process

When a bankruptcy application is given to the court by an insolvent debtor or by the creditor where the unpaid debt is more than 100,000 AED and has been overdue for thirty days despite a legal notice, process of restructuring starts. Court will appoint a bankruptcy trustee and while preparing the report about the debtors business, it will check if restructure of debtors business is possible. This restructure process will not take more than five years. Once restructure process is approved any civil/criminal proceeding against the debtor is suspended.

Bankruptcy

If the court nullifies the preventive composition or restructuring plan the court will go ahead with formal bankruptcy procedure of the debtor. The court can entitle the debtor to continue his business till formal bankruptcy is declared. In order to recover money, the trustee under the supervision of the courts will start selling the assets of the business to liquidate its assets.

What are the effects of bankruptcy?

When a debtor is declared bankrupt selling of his assets to recover the money shall be done and certain debts and expenses shall have priority. Merchant/ Owner of the business will be prevented from being directly involved in the managing of the business and from applying any further debts. All court proceedings will be suspended including execution proceedings except for those debts which are considered preferential debts. The transactions of the debtor prior to bankruptcy up to two years shall be nullified, set aside and reversed. The people involved in management of the debtor will not have any rights or power to be part of any managerial or board position for five years after the bankruptcy procedure is over.

Even after the procedure of bankruptcy is over and liquidation of debtor’s assets, every creditor whose debt was accepted but not repaid in full may execute against the debtors’ assets to recover the outstanding amount.

How much does the debt collection service charge?

Debt collection in Dubai vary greatly in how they charge for the services. Usually, they take percentage of the actual debt after collection. So, the average charges are:
Commission Fee: 25% to 50% of debt owed
Admission Fee: 5% to 10% of debt
Other (Risk, Litigation) Additional 15% to 20% of debt owed

How to proceed for debt collection in case of oral agreement?

In a situation no agreement exists between the debtor and the creditor, it is sufficient for the creditor to have invoice and their acknowledgement as a sufficient proof for debt collection.

In conclusion, the Emiratis and Expatriates who are unable to pay their credit card debts or outstanding debts cannot be imprisoned now, the new insolvency law says that they can work to pay off their debts with the help of UAE government. This is a big step considering most of the Expatriates live in Dubai on credit because of high cost of living.

 

 

FinTech in the United Arab Emirates

Technology has made tremendous strides in recent years, particularly with the advent of “artificial intelligence” (AI), which enabled machines to mimic and outperform human abilities. As a result, there has been a notable rise in the use of technology in the services that companies offer to their clients. Any and all technologies that automate financial trading for the advantage of companies and customers are referred to as “Fintech” or “financial technology” and aim to displace more conventional forms of finance. It encompasses everything, from a straightforward smartphone app used for online payments to anything complicated, like blockchain technology, where all transactions are completely protected. This technology makes judgments automatically using robotic process automation (RPA) and algorithms. artificial intelligence and other scientific technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), which use iterative processing and allow the software to learn from repeated patterns in the data, is used to arrive at a decision. This would include online trading platforms, robo-advisers, crowdfunding platforms, online banking of any kind, cryptocurrency, and insurance advice using technology.

What Does FinTech Offer In The UAE?

With the launch of “Fin Tech Strategy 2021” in 2016 and the UAE Vision 2022, which aims to transform the country into a leader in fintech, more than 134 fintech companies are offering their services in the UAE right now.

BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later)

Founded by Tariq Sheikh and Dani Molina, BNPL, or buy now and pay later, has become the latest retail trend amongst the millennial and Gen Z generations. Customers can use this service to buy items online and pay for them in equal installments later. In some cases, the website allows the customers to simply checkout and pay later, and in other cases, the customer has to pay a certain amount before checking out. This makes payment easy, as it allows the customers to split their bills and pay in installments with zero interest. As of now, there are no clear guidelines for the regulation of BNPL in Dubai. But since it is a sort of credit, it can be assumed that it is covered under the existing credit laws.

Digital Wallets (E-Wallets)

It is a contactless mobile payment, representing a shift from the traditional use of credit cards and debit cards at the time of payment. The details of the customer are stored in the e-wallet, so one does not need to physically carry any cards with them. This is also a safe option since it cannot be lost or stolen by chance. Since COVID 19 acted as a catalyst for contactless payment, more than half of Dubai residents now use e-wallets.

Crowdfunding

It is an alternative finance method that allows a person to fund a project and raise small amounts of capital from a large group of people through an online licensed platform. This is the best option for small and medium businesses, which are in dire need of funds in order to support their ideas and innovations and help them grow into businesses. This is legal now in the UAE, as the UAE Cabinet, in March 2022, approved private and public funding to finance new projects. DubaiNEXT, for example, is a government-backed digital crowdfunding platform that provides innovators with a platform to raise money, and the campaigner in this case will get full ownership of his project.

Cryptocurrency

Crypto is a digital currency in encrypted form created using encryption algorithms that is monitored and organized by a peer-to-peer network called the blockchain, which acts like a ledger of transactions. Unlike the normal currency, which is controlled by a central bank, cryptographic trading usually remains anonymous and is not regulated by any monetary authority. Bitcoin remains one of the most popular cryptocurrencies, for which the blockchain technology was basically created. The UAE Central Bank does not recognize cryptocurrency as legal tender, but it is not illegal in the UAE. For the purpose of regulation and licensing in the Emirate, Law No. 4 on Regulation of Virtual Assets (VAL), also known as the Virtual Assets Law, was passed.

Blockchain Technology

Blockchain is a shared real-time ledger for recording the history of transactions, contracts, and physical assets. It is not one person but a chain, and everyone in the chain can see the details of each record, known as the block. And every block is encrypted and stamped; only the person who owns it can edit it. Owners gain access to their block through a private key that only they possess. If changes are made in one block, everyone’s blockchain is updated and synced in real time. Transactions processed over the blockchain can be done within seconds. It can also protect copyrights and royalties and people’s digital identities. The government of the UAE has adopted blockchain technology for conducting its transactions. Up to 50% of the government transactions so far are done by this method. For this purpose, the UAE Blockchain Strategy 2021 has been adopted by the government.

Metaverse

Metaverse became a household name after Facebook changed its name to “Meta” in October 2021. It is a virtual reality space where users can interact with a computer-based environment from the comfort of their homes in the physical world. People in the metaverse use avatars to represent themselves and communicate. It is often said that the metaverse has made human life immortal. The Dubai Metaverse Strategy aims to turn Dubai into one of the top metaverse economies in the world. For this purpose, it seeks to enhance the metaverse’s economic contributions, promote advanced ecosystems, and provide support for metaverse education. The main focus of the Dubai metaverse is on four sectors: tourism, education, government services, a virtual reality space where users can interact with a computer-based environment from the comfort of their homes in the physical world. People in the metaverse use avatars to represent themselves and communicate. It is often said that the metaverse has made human life immortal. The Dubai Metaverse Strategy aims to turn Dubai into one of the top metaverse economies in the world. For this purpose, it seeks to enhance the metaverse’s economic contributions, promote advanced ecosystems, and provide support for metaverse education. The main focus of the Dubai metaverse is on four sectors: tourism, education, government services, retail, and real estate. One of the recent examples is the Etisalat store in the Dubai Mall, where the customers would be able to access the services while sitting at home and wouldn’t need to beat the traffic to get there. A virtual space that cannot be physically accessed yet attracts people to invest in it needs proper regulations. For this purpose, the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) has become the first regulator aiming to provide a framework for the financial entities operating within the metaverse.

Robo Advisers

Robo Advisers is an artificial intelligence-driven financial advisor who, by analyzing the profile of the client, delivers solutions and suggests changes and amendments to the existing profile. Robo advisers make investments simple yet affordable for clients. CBD Investr, a robo-advisor, has been set up by the Commercial Bank of Dubai. They enable investors to create globally diverse portfolios. This is certainly the future of wealth management.

Sandboxes

To encourage innovation, especially in the financial sector, the “sandbox” concept allows innovators to have pilot licenses to test their products under lenient regulatory requirements. The ADGM Reg Lab introduced by FSRA provides a controlled environment for fintech participation. The Central Bank of the UAE has deployed its regulatory sandbox as one of its initiatives in the insurance sector.

FinTech Hive at DIFC

The DIFC has provided FinTech companies with a platform to bring financial and technology firms together. Firms all over the world can test, develop, and adapt their products and solutions to meet the financial and technological needs of their respective regions. It conducted its first inaugural accelerator program in 2017, and ever since then, two more successful events have taken place.

How is this fintech regulated in the UAE?

When you have a technology tsunami all over the place, it is pertinent to have checks in place to regulate and provide a proper framework within which the system must offer services to its potential customers and make it safer for the customers who are otherwise going to be the victims of such fraud and scams if it remains unregulated.

UAE Onshore

Fintech and its services are regulated by the Central Bank of the UAE with respect to banking, finance, and payment services. The Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) regulates markets, listed companies, and securities brokers, while the Insurance Authority regulates insurance activities.

Large Value Payment System Regulation

In order to check high-priority funds transfers on behalf of the customers, the Central Bank Circular No. 9/2020 on the Large Value Payment System Regulation provides for a financial structure that supports the financial and wholesale activities. It covers the licensing requirement in relation to the LVPs. Also, it applies to those that operate in the UAE and LVPs that accept the settlement in AED both inside and outside the UAE. LVPs require a license from the Central Bank of the UAE and must comply with the Principles of Financial Market Infrastructure (PFMI).

Stored Value Facilities Regulation

Stored-Value Facilities are those where the customer pays in advance so that he can later use that payment method for any goods or services.The Stored Value Facilities Regulation was issued in September 2020, which replaced the regulatory framework for stored value and electronic payment systems and made the law more stringent.

Regulation of Security Tokens

The regulation provides for a regulatory framework for tokenization, listing, and trading of fund interests issued by a fund from the DIFC.

Regulation of cryptocurrency

For the purpose of regulating crypto currency, SCA Decision No. 23 of 2020 provides for Crypto Assets Activities Regulation (CAAR) to regulate and license key aspects of dealing in crypto assets. Two requirements have been provided for providing cryptographic services: First, the service provider must be incorporated onshore within the UAE or any of the UAE’s financial free zones. Second, he must be licensed by the SCA.

Electronic Payment Regulation 2017

This is issued by the Central Bank of the UAE and mandates that entities seeking to provide electronic payments obtain a license before dealing with payments. Two categories of payment service providers that must obtain the requisite license are those providing payment service providers (PSP) and payment system operators (PSO).

DIFC

The Dubai Financial Service Authority has not come up with any laws or regulations around crypto assets. However, the Financial Service Authority has come up with the Regulation of Digital Security Offerings and Crypto Assets 2019 to regulate cryptocurrencies.

Finally, FinTech services are making financial services more transparent, invisible, and extremely affordable. Fintech companies, however, must have a license and local presence so as to reach customers. So, this poses a serious challenge for those companies that wish to target UAE residents from outside of the UAE. Also, upgrades and evolution in the law are taking place at such a pace that companies will have to watch out for any developments and change their rules as per the new legislation.

Contact us to for more in-depth discussion about your legal concerns with Cryptocurrency.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Debt Recovery And Collection In The UAE (No Win, No Fee – Out Of Court)

The United Arab Emirates is a country of amazing opportunities, which consists of approximately of 90% of expats who came to work, live and study in this country, raise and educate their children here, and who are very pleased with their choice thanks to the state policy aimed at harmonious, sustainable development and ensuring security of all who came to the UAE.

However, due to natural circumstances, such as Covid-19 for example, or deliberate illegal actions, organizations and individuals have to face a situation where they cannot receive the money promised to them under the contract or due to them.

Inevitably, they have to face an unpleasant and difficult situation of debt collection, look for ways to get the funds that they owe, as well as compensation and losses that they have suffered because of the delay of promised payments.  This is where our team of legal consultants in Dubai can definitely assist.

Clients of our law firm Hassan Al Reyami & Muhyealdeen International Legal Consultants often turn to us for help in debt collection and over many years of successful work in this area, our team of debt recovery lawyers and experts have been able to accumulate a lot of positive experience in resolving these issues.

Debt Recovery Process

Let’s take a look at the basic stages of debt collection that you have to go through to get a debt, sometimes you have to go through all of them, sometimes we manage to solve the issue at the first stage of collection, depending on the documents provided and the debtor’s ability to pay. They are pretty clear and strong:

1. Drafting Legal Notice
2. Mediation
3. Litigation
4. Enforcement

In addition, a final stage is – Settlement agreement, which can take place at each stage of debt collection.

Why do I need debt collection lawyers?

In our law practice, we faced with a variety of cases of non-repayment of debt due to different reasons and circumstances, and often the malicious intent of the debtor. The most common situations of non-repayment of debt includes the following:

• Unpaid Cheques
• Bounced Cheques
• Unpaid Invoices
• Unpaid Salaries
• Unpaid Loans
• Unpaid Service Benefits
• Bad Debts
• Delinquent Account Receivables
• Commercial Debts
• Insurance claims
• And a lot more

At the first stage, we try to resolve the issue through mediation with the debtor, through negotiations, submission of documents justifying the debt, explaining to the debtor the consequences that non-payment of the debt can lead to, but we also do not forget that our collection case may end up in court, and therefore, we must issue a legal notice to the debtor with an indication of the amount, legal basis and the timing of debt repayment. We also have to take into consideration limitation of time to have a chance to claim the debt.

Quite often in our legal practice, but unfortunately not always, the mediation process leads to resolving the issue of collection in favor of our client.

The best outcome of mediation and negotiations with the debtor on debt collection is the signing of a settlement agreement with him on the repayment of the debt and the release of the relevant documents and the failure to proceed with the process in court proceedings, in which our law firm has accumulated extensive experience, having signed many amicable and settlement agreements and collected debts out of court to deep satisfaction of our customers.

If it is impossible to resolve the issue by an amicable agreement, the client is forced to go to court to resolve the issue of debt collection. Over the years of its more than twenty years of legal practice, Hassan Al Reyami & Muhyealdeen International Legal Consultants has accumulated vast experience in debt collection in the courts and arbitration of the United Arab Emirates.

Our Dubai lawyers had litigated in over 160 international and over 200 local arbitrations and court cases with an outstanding client satisfaction rating of 98% and completed over 5000 court case and arbitrations in total with high success rate. We have accreditation in all the courts in the United Arab Emirates and have local advocates in our team, which can present our clients before local courts.

A debt collection case won in the court is not a guarantee that you will receive your debt. A very important and difficult stage is the collection process, which includes investigating the property, accounts and assets of the debtor. Therefore, in the process of debt collection, it is necessary to legally competently provide that the debtor could not withdraw or hide his assets, thereby depriving you of the possibility of collection.

Why we recommend contacting debt collection specialists

The main reason for the failure of the collection of the tax is that the client is often not familiar with the laws of the UAE or does not understand them well, cannot properly draw up his claim, is in a stressful state, has chosen the wrong strategy for collecting a debt, and sometimes he simply cannot agree or talk in the same language as the debtor or his lawyers. For the creditors is also very important to come into contact with debtors as soon as possible, because he can have another creditors and because of that, there could be a lag behind other creditors demanding payments.

Regardless of the complexity of your debt collection case, Hassan Al Reyami & Muhyealdeen International Legal Consultants can assist you in debt collection in United Arab Emirates, and our legal practice covers all seven Emirates in United Arab Emirates. No win – no fee (out of court settlement), this is the guarantee of our work for you.

 

 

 

BOUNCED CHEQUES LAW IN UAE | CHEQUES REGULATIONS IN UAE | BOUNCED CHEQUE CASE IN DUBAI UAE

A common predicament faced in the business realm is the risk of possessing dishonored cheques. For this reason, in order to protect and provide remedy against this act, UAE Federal Penal Code imposed criminal sanctions on those persons drawing bounced cheques. On Article 401 of Federal Law No. 3 of 1987 imposes penalty by way of fine or imprisonment – for an amount of not less that AED 1,000 and not more than AED 300,000 imprisonment of not less than one more and not more than three years may be decreed by the court, as the case may be.

Therefore, it is always been resorted to and have been a practical legal means for creditors to file a criminal complaint for the bounced cheque along with a civil case for debt recovery of the amount disputed for collection. And since it has been a common practice, this criminal courts dockets are heavily congested and clogged as a result. And in order to ease and strive to reduce the burden from police, public prosecutors and criminal courts and to tighten the gravity of the penalties in low value claims, UAE legislators have introduced and amended the provisions of the bounce cheque laws providing a speedy resolution by introducing “ONE DAY COURT” and revised the circumstances on the imprisonment aspect of bounced cheque.

ONE DAY COURT – this new system allows resolution of minor bounced cheque cases to be determined and decision to be issued within 24 hours.  This is an effective way of facilitating UAE judicial system for speedy determination of minor cases and to strengthen laws of UAE for misdemeanor. Courts in the Emirates of ABU DHABI, DUBAI and RAS AL KHAIMA have been established successfully resolving minor bounced cheque cases.

On the other hand, the new law allows the criminal courts to impose only fine on simple crimes without imprisonment. To challenge the order of the court, objections may be filed within 7 days and this matter will be dealt with by the criminal court in the normal procedures as applicable. “SIMPLE CRIME” is categorized as per the cheque value of AED 200,000 or less and a fine of not exceeding AED 5,000 to AED 10,000 will be imposed. Cases for the aforesaid cheque value can be sentence by the Dubai Public Prosecution directly without any need of court procedure, however, the imposition shall be for a fine only and cannot exceed AED 5,000 to AED 10,000 as the case may be.

If you are looking to recover value of a bounced cheque with the help of debt collection lawyers? Our team of AL REYAMI ADVOCATES & MUHYEALDEEN INTERNATIONAL LEGAL CONSULTANTS can help you deal with all the cases concerning bounced cheques.

NEW FINANCIAL LAW IN UAE CAN AID INDIVIDUALS FACING FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES 

Financial crisis spurred host of efforts in UAE Cabinet to re-engineer their bankruptcy law regimes and approved a federal law as a legal mechanism to regulate cases of insolvency and/or aimed to resolve debt relief cases for individuals or natural person in UAE.

 

The newly pioneered Federal Decree-Law aims to strengthen UAE’s financial and economic stability by building a legislative and legal system primarily focused to increase transparency in civil debts and bolster financial security. This law guarantees the protection of debtor’s propriety and helps to devise an opportunity for them to cope with their finances and lessens their financial distress. More to say, this legal framework helps individuals repay their debts and guarantee that financial institutions receive their financial dues through transparent mechanism.

 

WHAT DOES THE INSOLVENCY LAW OFFERS?

The following are the main facets of the law:

• Aids individuals who faces current or anticipated financial difficulties that makes them unable to fulfil their financial obligations and pay their debts.
• Enables insolvent individuals to reschedule their debts and be granted new concessional loans.
• Decriminalize financial obligations on insolvent individuals and protect debtors from legal prosecution.

 

This law provides two main avenue and procedures to insolvent individuals:

• EXPERT ASSISTANCE: Insolvent person are given leeway to seek court assistance to settle debts. One or more experts will be appointed by the court, and these experts will coordinate with the debtor and creditor assisting them to advocate a financial settlement plan beneficial to both parties.

 

However, the court can terminate or reject a request made by the debtor under the following circumstances:

• Insolvent individual tried to conceal any part of his assets;
• Insolvent individual submitted false / fabricated statements concerning his assets, rights and liabilities; or
• Insolvent individual failed to settle a due debt for a period of more than fifty business consecutive days.

 

• LIQUIDATION PROCEEDING: In the event the insolvent individual is unable to pay his debts for an extended period of time, he then can resort to these process which is done by a trustee appointed by the court. However, this proceeding will impose restrictions on debtors use of his/her money and assets and will apply further restrictions in regard to entering into new obligations or obtaining new loans during the process.

Notwithstanding the above, the insolvent individual shall restore all his rights at any point in time in the event that he was able to conclude a settlement with his creditors and complies to its execution, or if the insolvent individual was able to establish that he has been discharge from debts to all his creditors.

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR LEGAL ASSISTANCE?

The Office of Al Reyami Advocates & Muhyealdeen can provide you legal advice and assistance through its dedicated team of experts in the light of the new Insolvency Law.

 

A bounced cheque which is also known as a dishonored or returned cheque is a non-sufficient funds cheque that cannot be processed because of the following reasons:

• There is not enough money in the account of the drawer on the date the cheque was issued.
• The bank account had closed prior to the encashment of the cheque.
• There is a technical problem such as a mismatch in the signature on the cheque and the signature in the bank’s records.
• The account holder instructed the bank to hold the payment.

The UAE has its set of repercussions for cases of bounced cheques and criminal charges are strictly imposed on people who present a cheque with insufficient funds or with full knowledge that it will not be cleared.

According to Article 632 of the Commercial Transaction Law, in the event of a default in the processing of a cheque due to any of the reasons stated above, a period of 3 days may be given to the cheque bearer to contact the drawer for the possibility of funding the cheque. Should the drawer be unavailable for communication within the given period, the drawee or cheque bearer has the right to take legal action. In such a case, the drawee can file a criminal complaint about the bounced cheque along with a civil case for the recovery of the cheque amount. The civil case will provide the drawee with an assurance that the amount denied will be recovered.

The process of filing a legal case against a drawer can go through several stages and the ramifications of a dishonored cheque may vary depending on the response of the drawer and the evidences provided.

1. Police Authority

A complaint on a bounced cheque may be initially reported to the nearest police station located in the concerned Emirate. This requires presentation of relevant documents and evidences. The police authority will automatically issue a warrant of arrest against the drawer. The drawer can respond by settling the case or submitting his passport so that further time may be given for him to provide the amount required. The warrant can be withdrawn after the drawer clears the matter or serves the jail time prescribed.

2. Public Prosecutor

The case will be forwarded to the Public Prosecutor for further investigations if the parties fail to resolve it at the police station. A report shall be prepared based on the proof provided. To give security to the drawee, the prosecutors can either hold the passport of the drawer or the guarantor or require a payment corresponding to the estimated amount of the cheque. The drawer will be kept in custody until the issuance of the final decision if the bail is denied.

3. Criminal Court

At the criminal court, the drawer may be convicted based on the evidence provided by the drawee. According to Article 401 of the UAE Penal Code, the punishment can either be a fine ranging from AED 1,000 up to AED 30,000 or imprisonment from one to three years.

There have been recent advancements where the government has stipulated laws to address small claims or petty offences. Such laws, enacted through the “One-day court”, allow small cases of bounced cheques to be given a decision within 24 hours and resolved with a detention sentence. This is now in force in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah and the effectivity in reducing the number of cases processed at the Criminal Courts has been observed. As a result, serious cases have better chances of getting resolved faster as the Criminal Courts now have enough time to deal with them.

In addition, Dubai has come up with a law on “Criminal Orders”, which allows the Public Prosecution to resolve “simple violations” with monetary penalty. The matter will only be transferred to Criminal Courts if there is an objection to the sentence issued and the objection is documented within 7 days of the issuance of the verdict.

An issued cheque worth AED 200,000 and below is classified as a simple offence and will be given a penalty of about AED 5,000 – AED 10,000. This is not punishable by imprisonment in Dubai. Thus, lawyers often advise their clients that when receiving cheques, it would be better if they require an amount higher than AED 200,000 so that in the event of a dishonored cheque, the drawer will be bound to face imprisonment. With such possible punishment, there will be a lesser chance of the drawer not funding the cheque.

If you have received a bounced cheque and would like to know the next steps in getting your investment back, Call Us Today!

Rules and Regulations of Bounced Cheque Law in Dubai UAE.

Bank cheque is a tool used by individuals to secure funds, contract business and pay obligations, but not all of them have the ability to fund these cheques and the volume of bounced cheque cases have sky-rocketed over the years.

To address this ever-growing state of affairs, the UAE Government has established a set of rules to guide both the issuer and the recipient of Bounced Cheque.

There are several UAE Laws that can be utilized to protect the recipient of Bounced Cheque and they can be done either in the criminal or civil court. The recipient can file a complaint in the police station against the issuer and the case will be forwarded to the public prosecution and then to the criminal court (under the new rules, the public prosecution, in an effort to adjust with the volume of cases with low-value claims, can now issue criminal orders to sentence offenders of low-value bounced cheque to pay fines rather than endure jail time).

According to a recent study, the UAE Public Prosecution categorized low-value cases like the ones where the bounced cheque amounts less than AED 200,000 hence the only issuer of cheques with an amount more than AED 200,000 are doomed to be sentenced with a jail term.

The recipient can also institute a civil action against the issuer for the amount of the bounced cheque and if the issuer cannot pay the amount, he can be imprisoned for a period corresponding to the unpaid amount.

As for the issuers, particularly for low-value cheques, they can avoid imprisonment by simply paying the fine corresponding to the cheque amount; however, this does not absolve them from paying the obligation when the recipient opted to institute a civil action to collect the amount due through a debt collection service.

For more detailed discussion of the intricacies of the Bounced Cheque Law in the UAE, you may contact Al Reyami Advocates and Muhyealdeen International Legal Consultants.

“I received a bounced cheque in UAE.  What do I do?”

A bounced cheque in UAE is considered a crime and as per the rules, instead of jail term there will be fines issued considering bounced cheque as a misdemeanor on the following basis,

– There is no date mentioned
– It is not signed by the drawer
– Does not clearly state the word “cheque”
– Does not specify the amount issued
– If it does not mention drawer and the beneficiary name

The new rule states that a bounced cheque of upto 50,000 will be given a fine of aed 2,000, for cheque between 50,000 to 100,000 will be given a fine of aed 5,000 and lastly for cheque between 100,000 to 200,000 will be given aed 10,000 fine.

A postdated cheque is not considered a crime. However, the cheque will be invalid if the date is not incorporated on the cheque or it contains fake duplicate signature or any sort of mark.

Please note that a bounced cheque crime may not be intentional but still the offence takes place once the cheque has been presented.

If you have received a bounced cheque and want to have your investment back, our debt collection lawyers are available to assist you in recovering your funds/assets.

Cheques in the UAE | Security Cheques | Bounce Cheque Law in Dubai

There has been much discussion relating to the issue of cheques in the UAE, particularly when related to security cheques. Historically, this has been a bone of contention for many where security cheques have been banked where the drawer would contest that it was done so correctly. A cheque can be made ‘conditional’ meaning specific requirements should be met before it can be encashed. If the drawer fails to fulfil any of the required conditions then he or she won’t be able to encash the cheque (note of caution, it will be valid after its due date). Below are some points you should know about cheques,

1- According to new rules, cheques are valid for 6 months from the date of issue.

2- The period to register a bounced cheque complaint can be up to 5 years beginning from the day the drawer issued it to the beneficiary.

3- If the holder of the account signs his cheque and leaves it blank for the amount to be drawn and the due date to be entered, they are tacitly authorizing the beneficiary to fill those details in as required.

4- The person signing a company cheque is legally responsible for its validity even after he or she leaves the company.

5- Alteration of cheques is strictly forbidden by banks to avoid fraud.

6- In the event not enough funds are available in the account for the amount of an issued cheque, a request can be made to pay the remaining partial amount to the beneficiary

7- The cheque, if bounced can be considered a criminal act. This includes insufficient funds in the account, deliberately writing the cheque in such a way as to make it invalid, making an order to the bank not to make a payment or issuing a cheque from a closed account.

8- If you lose any of your cheques, you should use the stop payment facility offered by the banks to avoid issues arising from anyone misusing them.

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