Tough financial laws that make failing to repay borrowing a crime are leading expats who are fleeing their debts to dump thousands of cars at airports across the Middle East.
Sharia law condemns someone not paying a debt to face criminal prosecution.
Many countries across the Middle East follow Sharia law – which has led to expats placed on a passport blacklist that stops them leaving a country for simply missing a credit card repayment or bouncing a cheque.
Thousands of cars are clogging up the parking areas at airports – especially in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and both Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
Poor customer relations
One expat dumped a £1 million Ferrari Enzo limited edition super sports car as he made a run for the terminal at Abu Dhabi to catch a flight back to Britain.
The scale of the problem is enormous – with 3,000 cars abandoned at Abu Dhabi last year alone.
The upside for some is the police and airport authorities auction the cars off at bargain prices.
Not all the offenders are expats, with plenty of locals facing debt problems also fleeing the Middle East to less harsh financial climes.
Only a few days ago, the government in Bahrain lifted travel restrictions on nearly 100 USA, British and Asian expats with debt problems. In Bahrain, as other Sharia countries, the restrictions also affect visas – often meaning expats with debts sink in to more financial problems as they cannot work or leave the country.
The restrictions were lifted mainly at the behest of HSBC Bank, which considers the credit ban poor customer relations.
British judge rejects appeal
Meanwhile, in the UK, the government is considering a string of cases from the UAE demanding extradition of former expats with debts, including one woman who cut her losses and left owing £145,000 on the mortgage of a luxury apartment as property prices plunged and jobs for expats dried up in the downturn.
A British judge turned down the extradition appeal on the grounds debt was not a criminal offence in the UK and he could not send someone abroad for prosecution for actions that were not crimes in the UK.
Those with debts fear that if they are convicted in the Middle East, they will suffer severe punishment, including jail, that does not wipe out the debt.
Although debtors are concerned over harsh punishments in countries observing Sharia law, dumping cars is a worldwide problem in cities popular with expats – with Vancouver, Canada spending millions of dollars on clearing more than 1,000 abandoned cars a year off roads.
