British politicians and the family of jailed businessman Ryan Cornelius, imprisoned in a Dubai jail for the past 16 years, are pleading with Sir Keir Starmer to fight for the property developer’s freedom as he visits the United Arab Emirates for trade talks.
The father-of-three, 70, has spent his children’s lives languishing in prison over an alleged £370m fraud. The UAE says he illegally obtained a loan from the government-affiliated Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) by bribing staff members, but the United Nations says the charge of fraud is unjust. Mr Cornelius accuses the DIB, which is chaired by a senior, non-royal government official, of being his “effective jailers”.
Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative Party leader, says the UAE imprisoned Mr Cornelius “deliberately to take possession of his properties” financed by the loan. Some of that property, Mr Cornelius has alleged in a letter to Sir Keir this week – dictated to his brother-in-law Chris Pagett over the prison phone in a bid to secure the help of the PM to negotiate his release – is “now being marketed as Dubai’s latest prestige residential development, worth many times the value of their loan”.
In a statement issued to The Telegraph, the UAE claims Mr Cornelius was convicted following a “fair trial in which all due processes were followed”, and that his sentence was extended after he failed to repay the creditor.
Mr Pagett describes the UAE’s repeated justifications for keeping the businessman in prison as “utter, cynical, bare-faced lies”.
Despite the UAE constitution stating that prisoners should be released when they turn 70, Mr Cornelius wrote in his letter to Sir Keir that his sentence has been tripled, upon request by the DIB. He is now scheduled for release in 2038, when he will be 84.
This story is from the December 10, 2024 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the December 10, 2024 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Absurd image that sums up Fifa's 'tinpot dictatorship'
Miguel Delaney explains how the Gianni Infantino-led endeavour to hand Saudi Arabia the 2034 World Cup finals perfectly encapsulated the depths to which football has sunk
Liverpool spoilt for choice in battle to look after No 1
The big screen in the corner of the quaint Estadi Montilivi displayed some pre-match entertainment.
City slump to defeat and Champions League peril
It amounts to miserable seven for Pep Guardiola.
Sublime Saka scores brace as Gunners boss Monaco
Bukayo Saka continues to show the way, as well as new levels. Arsenal have recently been a team in need of a bit of stability and sense of comfort, and this 3-0 win over AS Monaco duly offered them a straight line into the Champions League last 16.
Boots owner in negotiations with US private equity firm
Walgreens, the US-based owner of Boots, is in talks to sell itself to a private equity company, casting uncertainty over the future of the venerable high street chain.
Ukrainian women pulled alive from rubble seven hours after Russian strike
Rescue crews working through the night have pulled two Ukrainian women from the rubble more than seven hours after a Russian missile struck a private medical clinic in southern Zaporizhzhia city, killing six people and injuring 22 others, Ukraine’s emergency services said.
Putin helped Assad escape Syria via Russian airbase
Russian intelligence agents persuaded Bashar al-Assad to flee Syria for Moscow, having become convinced that he would lose against the insurgents rapidly advancing on Damascus, sources have said.
Syrians vow to rebuild their town after Assad's brutality
Bel Trew in Jobar, north of Damascus, meets residents returning home for the first time in more than a decade
British teenager jailed in Dubai over holiday romance
A British teenager has been jailed in Dubai for having sex with a 17-year-old girl while the pair were on holiday.
NHS patient awarded £70k after drug made him gamble
The NHS has paid out tens of thousands to a man who developed an “uncontrollable” gambling problem after he was given a common Parkinson’s drug, The Independent can reveal.
