UAE's New Insolvency Law Might Not Decriminalize The Bounced Cheque

Since cheque bounce in UAE is a criminal offence and registering a complaint against the cheque writer allow a travel ban with arrest warrant, drawer of bounced check cannot leave UAE nor can enter if already left until settlements. SHARJAH, UAE, Aug 28 (Reuters) - A United Arab Emirates court sentenced the founder of private equity firm Abraaj, Arif Naqvi, and another executive to three years in prison for issuing a cheque without sufficient funds, according to court documents and two court clerks on Tuesday.
In November, a senior banking official said lenders in the emirate are working together to try to stem the number of small business owners fleeing the country with unpaid debt, a trend which had allegedly reached around AED5 billion ($1.4 billion) by that point.



Wider application: The New Law applies more widely than the current Commercial Code provisions, covering companies governed by the UAE Commercial Companies Law (CCL), most free zone companies, sole establishments, and civil companies conducting professional business, not just to "commercial traders".
The new Federal Bankruptcy Law (Federal Decree Law No. 9 of 2016) provided some relief by providing a modernised restructuring and insolvency framework, and allowing for a stay of criminal proceedings relating to bounced cheques which were issued prior to the commencement of a scheme of composition or restructure.

Here, business relationships are based on integrity and trust developed over time, and so, traditionally, there has been less recourse to legal procedure for dealing with bankruptcy and insolvency situations,” said Andrew Tarbuck, a Dubai-based partner at Latham & Watkins.
Based on the aforementioned provision of law, your landlord or owner of the apartment may file a police complaint if your cheque for May 6, 2019 is dishonoured and you may be prosecuted for it. Further, you may have to pay a fine or undergo imprisonment depending upon the decision of the public prosecution.

Missing one payment means jail, as debt is a criminal offence in the UAE (as opposed to a civil matter in the Western world.) Often people take loans in good faith but their circumstances change and they flee before being sent to jail, but their problems are far from over.
However, in case of failure to get cheque amount despite imprisonment, the complainant should present his case to the civil court to claim the money along with documents and evidence to prove it. The civil court could then either demand the issuer to pay or face jail term.