Filing a Criminal Complaint as a Victim in the UAE

A UAE criminal complaint generally moves through three distinct stages, each run by a different body. It starts with a report to the police, who investigate. If the police refer the matter onward, it goes to the Public Prosecution, which independently reviews the evidence and decides whether to formally charge the accused. If charges are brought, the matter proceeds to the criminal courts for trial.

Understanding this structure matters because it means the victim’s role, while important, is not the same as a civil claimant driving their own case — the decision to prosecute, and how, sits with the Public Prosecution, not with the person who filed the original complaint.

The process generally begins with a report to the police, either in person at a police station or through the relevant emirate’s e-services platform, where available. Bringing identification, any supporting evidence — documents, messages, photographs, witness details — and a clear, specific account of what happened, helps the initial report move forward efficiently.

Which police force has jurisdiction depends on where the alleged conduct took place — Dubai Police for matters occurring in Dubai, and the equivalent force for Abu Dhabi or another emirate — a detail worth getting right at the outset rather than assuming any UAE police station can accept a report regardless of location.

• Dubai Police ↗

Once a report is filed, the police generally conduct their own initial investigation — gathering evidence, taking statements, and assessing whether the matter warrants referral onward. Not every report results in referral to the Public Prosecution; the police can decide a matter does not meet the threshold for criminal referral, in which case the complainant may need to consider whether a civil claim is a more appropriate route instead.

Where the matter is referred, the case moves to the Public Prosecution stage, and the victim’s direct involvement in the day-to-day investigation generally decreases from this point, even though they may still be asked to provide further statements or evidence as the process continues.

The Public Prosecution independently reviews the evidence referred by the police, can interview the complainant, witnesses and the accused directly, and ultimately decides whether to formally charge the accused and refer the matter to trial, or to close the case. This is a genuinely independent decision, not a formality that automatically follows a police referral.

During this stage, the Public Prosecution can also order precautionary measures relevant to the case, including in some circumstances a travel ban on the accused, which is addressed separately below because it is often confused with the criminal case itself rather than understood as a distinct procedural step.

A travel ban preventing the accused from leaving the UAE is a precautionary measure that can be requested and ordered separately from, and generally before, any determination of guilt — its purpose is to prevent someone from leaving the jurisdiction while a matter is investigated or a case is pending, not a punishment reflecting a finding of wrongdoing.

It is also worth distinguishing a criminal travel ban, ordered in connection with a criminal complaint, from a civil travel ban, which can be sought by a creditor through the civil courts in relation to a debt claim entirely separately from any criminal process — the two mechanisms exist for different purposes and are requested through different routes.

Where the Public Prosecution decides to charge the accused, the matter is referred to the criminal courts, where the case is tried. The victim generally has a role in this stage — often including the ability to participate as a civil claimant within the criminal case itself, covered further below — but the prosecution of the case itself is conducted by the Public Prosecution, not by the victim’s own lawyer acting as prosecutor.

Court proceedings from this point follow the ordinary criminal procedure applicable to the case, and how long that takes depends heavily on the nature and complexity of the matter, which is worth discussing with a lawyer rather than assuming a fixed timeline.

UAE cheque law has been reformed in recent years in a way that is frequently misdescribed. The correct position is that bounced cheques were decriminalised in part, not abolished as a criminal matter entirely — certain circumstances involving a dishonoured cheque have moved toward civil enforcement mechanisms, while other circumstances remain capable of criminal treatment. Treating a bounced cheque as automatically either “still fully criminal” or “no longer criminal at all” is equally likely to be wrong.

Given how significant this distinction is — whether a specific bounced cheque situation is pursued criminally or civilly changes the whole route available — confirming the current classification of the specific circumstances with a lawyer before deciding how to proceed is genuinely worthwhile rather than relying on general commentary about the reform.

In many UAE criminal matters, a victim can pursue a civil compensation claim attached to the criminal proceedings themselves, rather than needing to bring an entirely separate civil lawsuit afterward — this can allow the criminal court to address both the criminal charge and the victim’s compensation claim within the same process.

Whether this combined route is available and advisable for a specific matter, or whether a separate civil claim makes more sense given the facts, is a genuinely tactical decision worth discussing with a lawyer early, since it can affect both timing and strategy.

It is worth being realistic about what filing a complaint does and does not give the victim control over. The victim initiates the process and can provide evidence and statements throughout, but the decision whether to charge, what to charge, and how to prosecute sits with the Public Prosecution, which is acting on behalf of the state, not as the victim’s own representative.

This is a meaningful difference from systems where a private prosecution is more directly victim-driven, and understanding it early helps set realistic expectations about what happens after a complaint is filed, rather than assuming the process will move exactly the way the victim wants at every stage.

Some matters can be resolved through settlement or reconciliation between the parties, potentially allowing a complaint to be withdrawn, while others — generally more serious offences, or those treated as offences against the state or public order rather than purely against the individual victim — are not capable of being withdrawn once the process has advanced, regardless of what the victim and accused agree between themselves.

Whether withdrawal is available for a specific matter, and at what stage, depends on the nature of the offence and how far the process has progressed — this is worth confirming with a lawyer rather than assuming a settlement automatically ends the criminal process.

Unlike the civil and commercial matters DIFC and ADGM handle through their own court systems, criminal law and criminal prosecution in the UAE remain a matter for the onshore emirate-level and federal system — DIFC Courts and ADGM Courts do not operate their own criminal jurisdiction. Conduct occurring within DIFC or ADGM premises that may be criminal is still handled through the onshore police, Public Prosecution and criminal courts of the relevant emirate, not through the DIFC or ADGM court systems.

This is a genuinely important jurisdictional point for anyone working or living within DIFC or ADGM who becomes a victim of a crime there — the free zone’s civil-law independence does not extend to criminal matters, and the correct first step is still the onshore police, not the DIFC or ADGM Courts.

• Dubai Courts ↗
• Abu Dhabi Judicial Department ↗

Recurring, avoidable problems include: delaying the initial report, which can make evidence harder to gather and witness accounts less reliable; failing to preserve evidence — messages, documents, financial records — before filing; discussing the matter publicly or with the media before the process has run its course, which can complicate an ongoing investigation; and treating what is genuinely a civil debt or contract dispute as if it were fraud, which can lead to a complaint that the Public Prosecution does not accept as criminal.

Getting advice before filing, particularly in a matter that is not clearly and obviously criminal on its face, can help avoid pursuing the wrong route entirely and losing time that could have gone toward the correct one.

LEXNOVA is a lawyer-matching service, not a law firm, and does not file complaints, represent victims before the police or Public Prosecution, or give legal advice itself. What it does is help you describe what happened so you can be matched with lawyers experienced in UAE criminal complaints and victim representation. Every match is reviewed by a person before it reaches you, and the working relationship from there is directly between you and the lawyer.