Bad cheques still a criminal offence for UAE expats

Muawiah itum Tuesday, 21 May 2013 9:20 AM - Jordan

As a bank you give a loan to people without guarantees then you should be responsible for your loan you gave out.You give a loan for a car follow up step by step once defaulted confiscate that car our house the same month loan is defaulted. Don't give 2000,000 DH personal loan for 10,000 DH salary.No body can guarantee his job nor his health nor his circumstances.
Banks know that 80% of their loans are without guarantees ,yet they still hand them out.well,they want to gamble for profit they can but they should not ask the country to fill prisons with people defaulted in their loans.It is not a good image for the country and it cost the country a great deal to run prisons.

This is the issue it self that caused the world economy to collapse and started at USA banks and house industry in the early of this decade

Ron Bagnulo Monday, 7 January 2013 12:16 PM - UAE

I feel Sam?s pain. Traffic cops in the U.S. are ?strict? in enforcing the law of the road in order to protect. These men and woman on the whole conform to and uphold a certain professionalism that can be interpreted as ?rude? behavior. But, I assure you it is not.
Thankfully Sam, there are trade-off?s that can counter this perceived rudeness; and this is what makes America great. Unlike Dubai, you can legally flip the cops the bird without fear of recrimination. A U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that motorist cannot be pulled over for giving the cops the finger. According to the court ruling, such an insulting gesture is not grounds for ?reasonable suspicion that criminal activity or traffic violation is afoot.? Now, that?s what I call progress.
On the other hand, peacefully protesting on Wall Street is enough to get you investigated by the FBI, and get doused with pepper spray and jammed in the guts with a nightstick. But, that?s another story, for another day.

ANGEL WOOD Saturday, 5 January 2013 2:28 PM - U.A.E.

It is very clear that there is an attempt to delibrately confuse the people. The news in the Al Ittihad clearly stated that Cheqe bouncing will no longer be treated as criminal for both nationals as well as expats. This was a very positive step taken by the U.A.E. Government allowing the defaulters to be able to live like human beings with their families work and pay off the debt they had taken. Every individual whether national or expat has to be treated in a humane manner. Putting the person in jail, destroying his family, his work an then you expect him to pay.
The U.A.E. Constitution does not discriminate between national or expats. Everyone i to be treated equally. Moreover ther is no debt settlement in thecase of security or guarantee cheques. The debt settlement programme for which the President has alocated funds do not pertain to security or guarantee cheques given to banks/others. They refer to different form of debt.

Red Snappa Saturday, 5 January 2013 12:55 AM - Ireland

The most obvious flaw in the system is that loan guarantee cheques are usually for the full amount of the loan, therefore encashment in the event of default takes no account of the residual amount outstanding, or say in the case of a car loan, the written down repossession resale value of the vehicle.

PDC's are not generally issued in bad faith, as in many cases there is no way of forecasting that an individual will fall on hard times or that expected payments to them will fail to materialise.

Sure if you issue a cheque there and then for the full value of something that you have taken delivery of without the funds in your account then it's fraud, but sensibly delivery should be witheld until the cheque has cleared. Irrelevant of nationality!

A proper and comprehensive credit checking system, would reveal whether a loan candidate is already over exposed financially and the historic profile of his or her bank balance.

Jail denies an individual the chance of working to repay debt!

Michael Abdullah Friday, 4 January 2013 12:14 AM - U.S.A

I am surprised how in-humane the legal system exercised not only in the Gulf but All Arab/Muslim Countries still exists today.

A typical hypocritical system shall once again Jeopardize the economical & financial status of the whole region.

This is against the Financial International Regulation Acts of Debt Recovery systems and will definately force all Expatriates to leave your countries soon.

Now, Let's look at the outcome of such modernized slavery system and it's impact due to lack of leadership & managerial knowledge to properly regulate economical situations. It is very sad to see this happen in my homeland Dubai.

I am no longer living there, neither proud to hold such a passport.

Telcoguy Sunday, 6 January 2013 6:11 PM - UAE

@Sam, roughly 700,000 people got US citizenship last year. Do you know of any country that granted more? I think john has a point on this being the most sought nationality
Regarding taxes, you would pay slightly more taxes in Canada for your billions. But is good to know how seriously you take to your Canadian oath of allegiance, I will let Procan or others comment on that
Back to Eduardo, his family moved to the US because of the violence in Brazil, interesting how the whole thing has worked, I can see why people are upset. But to be fair the richer people are, the more mobile they are making wealth very difficult to tax, think of that next time you watch a movie with Depardieu
"Not in our name" can claim to represent the average american as much as the NRA, they just represent their members. In the US you can have these kind of things, you know
And yes, it looks like a rant, not that I care. It is actually quite cute

Sam from Canada Sunday, 6 January 2013 2:06 PM - Canada

@ John
I know Zuckerberg was also a founder, (as was Eduardo), so let us not demean Eduardo's role in FB. Also, you say that in the US "Equality exists", u also call it the wealthiest nation on Earth and other tall claims. All I can say is GOOD LUCK to you. Let me know when you wake up.

@realiste
Pls be yourself - realistic! U claim I went on a anti-US rant - and hence you know my character. Not only is this derisory, it also stinks of the sick Neo-con "with us or against us" mindset. I was only stating facts, but you are free to keep your eyes closed and be in denial of facts.

Also, if I had earned billions and were asked to pay up most of that in taxes, I would dump my passport too for one of a more sensible and fair jurisdiction. Has NOTHING to do with Eduardo's commitment to the country. Also, may be difficult for some to comprehend, but commitment to the US is NOT a God-imposed law, (that you make it sound like).

Funny...

realiste Sunday, 6 January 2013 11:41 AM - uae

@Sam
Your comments on cheques were totally wrong about the US. So you then went on an anti-US rant and still you are at it. So we know your character.
BTW the only reason Saverin gave up his US passport is that he was due to pay tax on the monies he earnt. Nothing more, nothing less. So his commitment to the country was fake from the beginning.

john Sunday, 6 January 2013 11:40 AM - UK

Sam,

First of all Mark Zuckerberg is the founder of facebook. Eduardo helped him but was not the main founder. Second, Eduardo gave up his US citizenship to avoid taxes. Third, his family emigrated to the US because they wanted a safer place for their son who was on a list of kidnappers for ransom.

Why is the US citizenship is the most distinguished in the world? It is because you live in a place where no one can judge you for your race, religion, color or nationality. Equality exists. You will live and excel based on your qualifications only. Besides, you have rights and freedom. Where in the world can you find them?
Moreover, you will be living in the wealthiest country in the world and the strongest military and the biggest economy where you will have more opportunities. You said many people gave up their US citizenship, I would like to remind you that millions of people are giving up everything just to emigrate to the US. This is the land of opportunities.

Sam from Canada Saturday, 5 January 2013 10:34 AM - Canada

@John
Can you please verify your claim the the American Passport is "the most distinguished passport in the world". If that were the case, you would not have an increasing number of citizens dumping this passport in favor of other passports.

Facebook founder Eduardo Saverin is not the only high profile guy to have done this. Shaikh Google will help you identify many more :)

The fact is that the US passport is a LIABILITY - in terms of tax, in terms of personal security, and even in terms of one's pure ethics/morals (where these exist).

As the movement "Not in our name" rightly declares, MOST of the stuff US Foreign Policy does in the name of American citizens it is supposed to represent, has NOTHING to do with what the average American citizen would want them doing.

Also, ever gotten stopped by a US traffic cop? Compare that with a Dubai traffic cop. If u cant appreciate the world of difference, and how rude the US cops are - then I guess good luck to u. I rest my case.

john Friday, 4 January 2013 9:48 PM - UK

Sam,
Sue is absolutely right. Giving a bad check for goods you bought is fraud and not a security check like the case in the UAE. You have to difrenciate between the two cases. Besides, criminilizing expats and not nationals is pure discrimination.

Moreover, whether you want to hold a US passport or not, it is still the most distinguished passport in the world.

Sue Friday, 4 January 2013 4:03 PM - Cyprus

@Sam. I think the difference here is that you are obliged to issue a pdc in the UAE for things like bank loans, cars, rent etc. Not many other countries outside the UAE/Gulf do this. So you have to issue it knowing that at the moment of writing the cheque there are not enough funds to cover it. However in the US, you would only jailed if you issued a cheque for goods or services purchased (i.e. not a pdc) knowing that it won't be honoured when presented - that is the true meaning of fraud.

Sam from Canada Friday, 4 January 2013 10:38 AM - Canada

@Michael. In case u are unaware, you also get thrown into prison in the US for bouncing a cheque. The Gulfites copy the Western system/model to a large degree, so look in your own backyard before you become too proud to hold a US passport. I would not take one if you gave me a million dollars...

Andy Thursday, 3 January 2013 5:27 PM - USA

There is a very good page about this on Facebook which explains this in detail under Dubai Check Fraud. There is also a website up about this if one does a search for the same key words about Dubai Check Fraud. As the headlines of this article states it is an offence for Expats to bounce a check while others still have a green light to do so. Hopefully the editors here will not edit this post.

If there are any errors made others along with the editors are free to chime in the comments section here.

VINOD LAHORI Thursday, 3 January 2013 4:31 PM - UAE/INDIA

AS USUAL,,ALL NEWS ARE CONFUSING IN UAE,ONE DAY ONE NEWS,THEN REVIEWED AND CHANGED,,SO STILL NOTHING IS CLEAR.

Sole Thursday, 3 January 2013 4:30 PM - US

Obviously few bankers and landlords has used their influence after yesterday statement and manage to reverse the brave initiative that could help to improve the life for thousands of defaulters ..

No one is asking any wavers for defaulters , on the contrary they should be forced to pay all the money they have taken, but in humanitarian and civilized ways

Defaulters are human that made mistakes and should be given second chance to live , they can confiscate all their properties, belonging, cars , ban them from opening bank account or buying anything in their name, do whatever you want to them, but let him leave with his family and let his family live in peace .

evry one deserve to be treated like Human , and no one should be above the laws even Bankers and landlords.