Ryan Cornelius, a 71-year-old British businessman, will spend his 72nd birthday in a Dubai prison as his family claims the Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) is behind his prolonged detention. Cornelius was arrested in 2008 over a bank loan and is serving a 30-year sentence that will keep him incarcerated until he is 84.
Cornelius was convicted in 2011 of defrauding the bank, a charge he denies. His initial 10-year sentence was extended by 20 years in 2018 at the request of DIB, according to information provided to a UN working group on arbitrary detention. He is required to pay $432 million to the bank, but his assets have been seized, leaving him unable to raise the funds.
His brother-in-law, Chris Pagett, claims Cornelius was $10 million ahead of the repayment schedule at the time of his arrest. The UN working group ruled in 2022 that Cornelius was arbitrarily detained, noting the extension was decided in a closed-door hearing. The UAE has not responded to the UN's request for evidence.
British parliamentarians, including former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith, have urged Dubai to show clemency, but previous appeals have gone unanswered. The family hopes for a pardon on UAE National Day, 2 December.
