Sharjah: Cases involving bounced cheques declined by 12 per cent this year, Sharjah Police said on Monday.
According to Sharjah Police statistics, bounced cheque cases dropped to 5,122 during the first nine months of this year compared with 5,768 cases during the same period last year.
Colonel Dr Khalifa Kalendar, Deputy Director of Police Centres in Sharjah, said the number of bounced cheques being reported in the emirate since the first nine months of the year has fallen.
Recently, Sharjah Police set up a new financial crimes unit which is working on settling monetary disputes amicably before they land in the courts as part of routine police investigation.
Arbitrating matters between parties may help significantly reduce the number of criminal cases filed for financial claims.
Sharjah Police said efforts to arbitrate financial cases in the third quarter of this year have already helped return Dh37.2 million to complainants without resorting to criminal proceedings.
Colonel Kalander said the initiative contributed a great deal in solving financial disputes and provided a chance to defendants involved in bad cheque cases to pay off their debts directly at the police stations before referring the file to the public prosecution and the court.
“The files are being sent to the prosecution and the court only if the defendants have criminal records,” he said.
The initiative is aimed at protecting the complainants’ rights and ensuring that their money is returned to them.
“It also contributes to reducing loads of files to be referred to the Public Prosecution and courts, besides protecting the families whose breadwinners, like the father or mother, who could have otherwise been locked up in jail.”
The new Sharjah Police Department Financial Crimes Unit can be reached by calling 06-5194163.
The crimes unit is located at Buhairah police station and will now handle a unified financial crimes complaints process,
