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Newspapers printed contradictory reports on Tuesday on whether the United Arab Emirates was ending prison terms for foreign nationals living in the Gulf Arab state who write bad cheques.
The UAE's tough penalties for defaulting on cheques were relaxed for Emirati citizens in October after a royal decree, but the threat of jail for the country's large expat population remains.
In the UAE writing cheques that bounce is a criminal offence instead of a civil one. Post-dated cheques are frequently used as a guarantee by businesses and individuals for everything from apartment rentals to multi-billion dollar deals.
Officials were not available to comment on Tuesday, which is a national holiday.
"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," Ali Khalfan Al Dhaheri, head of the legal affairs department at the Ministry of Presidential Affairs was quoted saying by The National.
The paper also quoted judge Jassem Saif Buossaiba, head of the judicial inspection department at the Justice Ministry, as saying: "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."
However, Gulf News then quoted deputy minister of Presidential Affairs Ahmad Jumaa Al Zaabi as denying the report, saying: "There is no relaxation or debt waiver for expatriates".
In July a British businessman who had been jailed for nearly three years in Dubai for writing bad cheques was released when his conviction was overturned following a seven-week hunger strike.
The UAE has no bankruptcy laws to protect debtors and many have called for the decriminalisation of bounced cheques.
New legislation aimed at simplifying the process of bankruptcy and allowing failing companies to restructure is expected in 2013.
As much as I love the UAE, this will be a problem for them in the future. Lets look at this from any democratic Country on Earth. If I decided not to turn... more
Wednesday, 22 May 2013 11:56 AM - Ty SaySalman Al, perhaps nobody has informed you of the fact that Britain has been 'paying back' for decades now, in giving safe haven to a vast swathe of imigrants... more
Wednesday, 22 May 2013 1:33 PM - MarkWell, it is their country, their rules..but i was thinking about the situation of firms who are forced to loose the staff, as I understand the firms got... more
Wednesday, 22 May 2013 10:43 AM - Baiju JaffarAs much as I love the UAE, this will be a problem for them in the future. Lets look at this from any democratic Country on Earth. If I decided not to turn... more
Wednesday, 22 May 2013 11:56 AM - Ty SayLet me put the entire issue in perspective. There are massive traffic problems on the roads of Kuwait, where Kuwait can boast high road fatalities and... more
Tuesday, 21 May 2013 1:28 PM - AbdullahSalman Al, perhaps nobody has informed you of the fact that Britain has been 'paying back' for decades now, in giving safe haven to a vast swathe of imigrants... more
Wednesday, 22 May 2013 1:33 PM - MarkHappy employees, happy customers. Quite simple actually. 60,000 unhappy staff, well, you do the math on how many unhappy customers can result from poor... more
Monday, 20 May 2013 10:27 AM - Louie TedescoIslam is not better than any other religion, to all the muslims out there, stop putting yourself on a pedestal, you are filled with self importance that... more
Tuesday, 14 May 2013 9:58 AM - graemeAs much as I love the UAE, this will be a problem for them in the future. Lets look at this from any democratic Country on Earth. If I decided not to turn... more
Wednesday, 22 May 2013 11:56 AM - Ty Say
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