Closing bank accounts before leaving the UAE permanently is the right course of action. Photo: Unsplash/ Firmbee
Closing bank accounts before leaving the UAE permanently is the right course of action. Photo: Unsplash/ Firmbee
Closing bank accounts before leaving the UAE permanently is the right course of action. Photo: Unsplash/ Firmbee
Closing bank accounts before leaving the UAE permanently is the right course of action. Photo: Unsplash/ Firmbee


‘How can I apply for statements of my closed UAE bank account from overseas?’


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  • Arabic

August 14, 2022

I left Dubai in March and closed my bank account with Emirates NBD. I now need my bank statements for the past six months to support my mortgage application in Ireland. However, I forgot to download copies before closing the account.

I have emailed and called the bank more times than I can count over the past few months and keep being told to log in to online banking — which I can’t do as the account is closed — and use my registered mobile number — I don’t have a UAE telephone number any more — or go to a branch, which isn’t possible.

I tried contacting the bank through the accounts closure email but was advised to contact customer care instead. They asked me to visit a branch or use an ATM, even though I kept explaining that I now live in Ireland.

Please help me as I need the statements and am not getting anywhere. AH, Ireland

I got in touch with my contacts at Emirates NBD and they took prompt action.

Within a week, Ms H confirmed that she had received an email from Emirates NBD with her statements for the past 12 months.

A spokeswoman for the bank said that the group customer experience team contacted Ms H and resolved the matter to her satisfaction.

“I never expected it to be sorted so quickly and appreciate your efforts,” Ms H said.

Closing bank accounts before permanently leaving the UAE is the right course of action for the vast majority of people, but it is also wise to ensure that you have soft copies of your account and credit card statements for at least the past year, if not longer.

They will be required if you need to apply for a mortgage or personal loan in the new country of residence.

I worked for a company in my home country and was transferred to their Dubai office on secondment.

When I joined, I had an official labour card and was on the company’s visa. There was no mention of secondment on any of the official documents.

I was only paid an allowance in Dubai, while my salary was still paid in my home country.

The secondment arrangement went on for three years. Four years ago, my company decided to make me a permanent employee in Dubai.

However, the company did not pay me any gratuity. The labour contract continued as it was, with a jump in pay here.

My labour contract still shows my initial date of joining as the start date of employment. As per UAE law, from which date will my gratuity be calculated? TK, Dubai

When TK started working for the company in the UAE, he had a visa, work permit and a salary, even if it was only part of his total package. This means he was a UAE resident and employee and, therefore, the full provisions of UAE law will apply.

It is understood that he works for a mainland employer, so both the previous and current labour laws apply in full.

This means that the start date of employment in the UAE was seven years ago. The payment of his gratuity should be calculated from that date. The law is clear about how this is calculated.

“The full-time foreign worker, who completed a year or more in continuous service, shall be entitled to end-of-service benefits at the end of his service, calculated according to the basic wage as per the following: a. A wage of 21 days for each year of the first five years of service; b. A wage of 30 days for each year exceeding such period,” according to Article 51 of the Labour Law.

When TK’s service ends, the gratuity payment should be based on his basic salary at that time, calculated from his official start date in 2015.

Can a supplementary credit card holder be liable for unpaid debt? If there are payments outstanding, can they be detained in the UAE? SS, Dubai

SS should check the terms and conditions that relate to the specific credit card as they can vary between banks.

The primary cardholder is liable for all charges and debts, while the supplementary cardholder is only responsible for any charges on the supplementary card. Reuters
The primary cardholder is liable for all charges and debts, while the supplementary cardholder is only responsible for any charges on the supplementary card. Reuters

Generally speaking, the primary cardholder is liable for all charges and debts, while the supplementary cardholder is only responsible for any charges on the supplementary card.

The supplementary cardholder is not usually held liable for payment or debt.

It is unlikely that a bank could take out a police case against a supplementary cardholder for unpaid debt, but if there are any concerns, SS should check with the bank to confirm the situation.

Keren Bobker is an independent financial adviser and senior partner with Holborn Assets in Dubai, with more than 25 years’ experience. Contact her at keren@holbornassets.com. Follow her on Twitter at @FinancialUAE

The advice provided in our columns does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information only

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
List of alleged parties

 

May 12, 2020: PM and his wife Carrie attend 'work meeting' with at least 17 staff 

May 20, 2020: They attend 'bring your own booze party'

Nov 27, 2020: PM gives speech at leaving party for his staff 

Dec 10, 2020: Staff party held by then-education secretary Gavin Williamson 

Dec 13, 2020: PM and his wife throw a party

Dec 14, 2020: London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey holds staff event at Conservative Party headquarters 

Dec 15, 2020: PM takes part in a staff quiz 

Dec 18, 2020: Downing Street Christmas party 

The specs

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Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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SQUADS

South Africa:
JP Duminy (capt), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wkt), AB de Villiers, Robbie Frylinck, Beuran Hendricks, David Miller, Mangaliso Mosehle (wkt), Dane Paterson, Aaron Phangiso, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Tabraiz Shamsi

Bangladesh
Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Imrul Kayes, Liton Das (wkt), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wkt), Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Soumya Sarkar, Taskin Ahmed

Fixtures
Oct 26: Bloemfontein
Oct 29: Potchefstroom

How much of your income do you need to save?

The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.

In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)

Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.

 

Brief scores:

Juventus 3

Dybala 6', Bonucci 17', Ronaldo 63'

Frosinone 0

THE BIO

Bio Box

Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul

Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader

Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet

Favorite food: seafood

Favorite place to travel: Lebanon

Favorite movie: Braveheart

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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MATCH INFO

Qalandars 109-3 (10ovs)

Salt 30, Malan 24, Trego 23, Jayasuriya 2-14

Bangla Tigers (9.4ovs)

Fletcher 52, Rossouw 31

Bangla Tigers win by six wickets

Specs

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Director: Jon M Chu

Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater

Rating: 4/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THREE POSSIBLE REPLACEMENTS

Khalfan Mubarak
The Al Jazira playmaker has for some time been tipped for stardom within UAE football, with Quique Sanchez Flores, his former manager at Al Ahli, once labelling him a “genius”. He was only 17. Now 23, Mubarak has developed into a crafty supplier of chances, evidenced by his seven assists in six league matches this season. Still to display his class at international level, though.

Rayan Yaslam
The Al Ain attacking midfielder has become a regular starter for his club in the past 15 months. Yaslam, 23, is a tidy and intelligent player, technically proficient with an eye for opening up defences. Developed while alongside Abdulrahman in the Al Ain first-team and has progressed well since manager Zoran Mamic’s arrival. However, made his UAE debut only last December.

Ismail Matar
The Al Wahda forward is revered by teammates and a key contributor to the squad. At 35, his best days are behind him, but Matar is incredibly experienced and an example to his colleagues. His ability to cope with tournament football is a concern, though, despite Matar beginning the season well. Not a like-for-like replacement, although the system could be adjusted to suit.

Key recommendations
  • Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
  • Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
  • Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
  • More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
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Updated: November 21, 2024, 10:12 AM