Woman in Abu Dhabi tells of loan shark hell

A woman who says she paid back more than Dhs50,000 on a Dhs25,000 loan to an illegal loan shark has begun a criminal case against the money lender.

The Filipina was at Abu Dhabi Criminal Court along with a group of supporters to lodge the case.

The woman said she has spent more than a year trying to make repayments to the Filipino money lender, who kept insisting that she owed more and more cash under a rising compound interest system. She eventually went to police, who advised her to first lodge a case in court.

One of her supporters, a sales officer for a UAE bank, said the woman had paid “between Dhs50,000 and Dhs60,000” on her initial loan.

“The person who gave her the money wasn’t a full-time money lender, but would give out money from time to time,” she said. She added that the case showed why people should go to legitimate lenders and not take loans under vague terms. “She was afraid that she would get in trouble with the police if she did not make repayments, so she was borrowing from other people and was very worried,” the bank official added.

The woman had originally taken out the loan to pay rent on an apartment.

The case highlights the shady world of money lending to low-paid expats, many of whom cannot get loan approval from the banks. Earlier this month, a Filipino father and son denied illegally lending money when they appeared at Dubai Court of First Instance. They were accused of asking for 10 per cent interest or more

on loans.

Prosecutors said the son was seen at an ATM using 10 credit cards to withdraw cash from accounts. The son told police that he held people’s credit cards as guarantees on the loans.

sean@7days.ae

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