He is afraid to return the money to the bank in case he is questionedand put in prison; should he give it in charity?

I took a loan from a bank six years ago, without knowing anything about what in sharia we call Riba, and I paid some instalments. After few months, I left my job and took my savings, including the loan money,abroad to get married and buy a property and have not paid anything tobank ever since. Now, I realised that this is haraam, and I am willing to return the loan money that I have taken, in orderto clean myself from sins, but I am concerned about going directly to the bank,as that will complicate things in term of legal liabilities and debt repayment penalties, and may involve prison term. So, is it possible to give the money to very poor families instead of giving it to the bank?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
It is haraam to take a loanon the basis of riba; the one who does that has to repent to Allah, may He be exalted, but he does not have to return anything except the capital. As for the interest (riba), he does not have topay it and he can use a trick to avoid paying it so long as that will not resultin harm for him.
Secondly:
You have to return the loan to the bank by any possible means, and it is not acceptable for you to give the money in charity,because giving the moneyin charity is only an option when the owner or the one to whom it rightfully belongs is not known, or it is not possible to send it to him, in which case you may give it in charity on the basis that if you find the rightful owner, you will give him the choice between approving of thecharity or taking his due.
The bank is the rightful owner in this case, and is known. So you have to return the money to it and you have to look for ameans that will let you avoid questioning and punishment.