Ryan Cornelius, a 71-year-old British businessman, is serving a 30-year prison sentence in Dubai that will keep him incarcerated until age 84, his family claims, with the Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) playing a key role in his prolonged detention. Cornelius was arrested in 2008 and convicted in 2011 of defrauding the bank, a charge he denies, over a loan for a business deal. His sentence was extended in 2018 at the bank's request, adding 20 years to an initial 10-year term, according to information provided to a UN working group on arbitrary detention.
Cornelius's wife, Heather, is reportedly homeless, and the family says he has no means to raise the $432 million a Dubai court ordered him to pay. DIB has seized all his assets, including a property development valued at over $3 billion, more than double the outstanding loan amount. His brother-in-law, Chris Pagett, claims Cornelius was $10 million ahead on repayments at the time of his arrest in May 2008 while travelling through Dubai.
The case has drawn international attention, with 146 British parliamentarians urging clemency. The UAE deputy ambassador in London, Khalid Saud Al Qasimi, met Labour MP Tim Roca last week and promised to pass their letter to Dubai authorities. MPs hope a pardon may be issued on UAE National Day, 2 December, though a similar appeal last year went unanswered.
In 2022, the UN working group on arbitrary detention ruled Cornelius was arbitrarily detained, noting his 2018 sentence extension was decided in a closed-door, one-day hearing. The UAE did not respond to a UN request for evidence. DIB, which reported a pre-tax profit of £2.01 billion in the first 10 months of this year, has stated the sentences are the responsibility of an independent judicial system.
