Expatriates in the UAE will not be exempt from criminal charges for bouncing cheques

Expatriates in the UAE will not be exempt from criminal charges for bouncing cheques, authorities said, clarifying media reports that foreign nationals who write bad cheques will no longer be punished.

The Higher Committee for Debt Settlement Fund for Nationals said it will only settle bad debts for Emirati citizens and not foreigners living in the Gulf state.

“The mechanisms set by the fund will apply only to UAE citizens, and not others, and this includes the President’s directives to decriminalise [bounced] security cheques presented by UAE citizens to banks and financial firms,” a statement on state news agency WAM said.

“The prosecution shall suspend all criminal cases and the courts shall dismiss all cases in connection with security cheques presented by Emiratis,” it added.

The statement comes days after local media printed contradictory reports on whether the UAE was ending prison terms for expatriates that write bad cheques.
Arabic daily Al Ittihad on January 1 said bouncing a cheque would no longer be a criminal offence for expatriates, quoting Ali Khalfan Al Dhaheri, head of the legal affairs department at the Ministry of Presidential Affairs,
“In line with the directives of Sheikh Khalifa... and in the spirit of fairness and equality, the courts have stopped as of last month accepting collateral cheques presented as a criminal tool against expatriate debt defaulters,” he told the newspaper.
“Federal public prosecutions in the country have, indeed, released expatriate detainees as has been the case of their Emirati counterparts who were freed last October,” added Judge Jassem Saif Buossaiba, head of the judicial inspection department at the Justice Ministry.
Gulf News however denied the report. “There is no relaxation or debt waiver for expatriates,” deputy minister of Presidential Affairs Ahmad Jumaa Al Zaabi told the newspaper.
Cheques are used in the UAE to underwrite credit cards, loans and guarantee future payments and bouncing cheques is a criminal offence and not a civil one.
Authorities in October relaxed the penalties for Emiratis who write bad cheques and in November freed around 290 UAE nationals who were in prison for bouncing cheques.
UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan in May allocated around AED5m to settle defaulted loans for each indebted Emirati. In August, the Central Bank ordered banks to extend maturities on personal loans held by Emiratis by more than four years.

Naturalization and Residency Prosecution initiatives A'awiddne to compensate the sponsor

A'awiddne  is one of the initiatives by Naturalization and Residency Prosecution so as to compensate the sponsor with Five Thousand Dirham from the amount of fine imposed by the court and this is as a result of his absconding worker being hired by another person pursuant to the Article No. (34) repeated of the Law of Entry and Residence of Foreigners No. (6) of 1973 concerning Immigration and Residence as amended by the Federal Law No. (7) of 2007.

Purpose of this initiative:

1. Enforcing the Law of Entry and Residence of Foreigners.
2. Mitigating the losses of the sponsor.
3. Compensating the sponsor by five thousand dirham.
4. Increasing the clients' satisfaction.

Regulations of enforcing this initiative:

1. Applicant must be the sponsor of the violator.
2. He must have filed the absconding report before arresting the violator.
3. Employer must be arrested and sentenced by fine.
4. Sentence of fine must be final and conclusive.
5. Convict has paid fully the fine imposed.


Mechanism of enforcing the initiative:

1.Cases of employing absconding workers sentenced by fine will be sorted out.
2.Make sure that the employer has paid the fine amount and the conditions are applicable to the sponsor.
3.Contact the sponsor and ask him to submit a request for compensating the sponsor along with enclosing his identity proof.
4.Request is presented to the chief prosecutor and after approval, it will be transferred to the account section to disburse the money.
5.Amount will be disbursed within five working days.