From a jurisprudential point of view, it is an interest-based loan, and there is no difference between the two cases.
Yes, you can get rid of the legal problem by taking the money in the name of saving it from the hands of a non-Muslim, not under the title of a loan, then it does not harm you that he will take it back from you by force, since you cannot default.
Of course, choosing the second case would be better.