A British businessman is facing the prospect of dying in a Dubai prison after his sentence was extended to 30 years following a dispute with the Dubai Islamic Bank, according to his family.
Seventeen Years Behind Bars
Ryan Cornelius, now 71, was initially detained in 2008 while transiting through Dubai on his way home to Bahrain from Karachi, Pakistan. His brother-in-law Chris Pagett claims that at the time of his arrest, Cornelius and his business partners were actually $10 million ahead of their agreed repayment schedule for a bank loan.
The businessman was convicted in 2011 alongside three other expatriates of defrauding the Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) over a loan intended to fund a business deal - charges he consistently denies. He received an initial 10-year sentence, but in 2018, this was extended by a further 20 years at the bank's request, meaning he won't be released until 2038 when he will be 84 years old.
Bank Profits Versus Family Ruin
While the Dubai Islamic Bank is on course to make over $2 billion in profit this year, according to recent accounts, Cornelius's family has been left destitute. His wife Heather is effectively homeless, and the bank has seized all his assets, including a property development called the Plantation land (now renamed the Acres).
This development would be worth more than $3 billion based on advertised villa prices - more than double the amount of his outstanding restructured loan from the bank. A Dubai court has ordered Cornelius to pay $432 million to secure his freedom, an amount his family says he has no means of raising.
International Pressure Mounts
The case has attracted significant political attention in the UK, with 146 British parliamentarians signing a letter urging Dubai to show clemency. The cross-party delegation includes former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith and Liberal Democrat peer Tim Clement-Jones.
Khalid Saud Al Qasimi, the UAE deputy ambassador in London, recently met Labour MP Tim Roca and promised to ensure the letter reached relevant authorities in Dubai. Parliamentarians are hoping the UAE's National Day on 2 December - traditionally a occasion for pardons - might bring a resolution.
In 2022, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention determined that Cornelius was being arbitrarily detained, noting that his sentence extension was decided by a judge at a closed-doors, one-day hearing that bore little resemblance to an ordinary trial. The UAE did not respond to the UN's request for evidence.
Tim Roca commented: "There are two aspects to this. There clearly is a dispute about fraud and money that is denied. But he is a 71-year-old man in prison, bankrupt, and the prospect of him paying back what is owed is more than unlikely."
The Dubai Islamic Bank, which claims to be the first to incorporate Islamic principles into its practices, states that sentences are the responsibility of an independent judicial system. The bank's chairman, Mohammed Al Shaibani, also serves as director general of the Dubai Ruler's Court, though there's no suggestion he has used his status to influence proceedings.
