Malnourished, sick and facing extradition to South Sudan, O’Grady says he was suddenly dumped at roadside and told ‘good luck’
For nearly 11 months, Cobourg native Ryan O’Grady lived behind the walls of one of Dubai’s most notorious prisons.
He lost 17 kilograms.
He became seriously ill.
He spent months wondering whether he would be sent back to South Sudan — a country where he says threats had already been made against his life.
Then, without warning, it ended.
On Monday evening, prison officials drove O’Grady through the gates of Al Awir prison, stopped at the side of a road and opened the door.
“Good luck,” he says he was told.
A guard shook his hand, climbed back into the vehicle and drove away.
“And so ended my days in Al Awir prison,” O’Grady told Today’s Northumberland.
The 47-year-old former CEO of South Sudan’s Kush Bank is now in Dubai receiving medical treatment for infections and other illnesses he says developed during his incarceration.
His sudden release followed months of legal battles over an extradition request from South Sudan, where he faced allegations of breach of trust connected to his former work at Kush Bank.
O’Grady has consistently denied the allegations.
He says the case was retaliation for his efforts to clean up corruption inside the bank and that corrupt individuals in South Sudan manipulated the international criminal justice system in an attempt to have him returned to the country.
Those allegations have not been proven in court, and South Sudanese authorities have not publicly responded to the claims. The Globe and Mail reported that South Sudanese government spokespeople did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
But after months behind bars, O’Grady is free.
And he still doesn’t know exactly why.
‘How did this ever happen?’
“How did this ever happen, Pete?” O’Grady said during an interview.
“It’s a good question. The entire experience has been just surreal.”
O’Grady has spent much of his professional life working in international development, particularly across Africa.
South Sudan, he says, had been close to his heart for more than a decade.
The world’s youngest country presented enormous challenges — but also enormous possibilities.
“It’s been a country that’s been faced with enormous challenges,” he said. “But it’s also been blessed with enormous opportunities and some of the most resilient and kind people on earth.”
His work eventually led him to Kush Bank, where he served as CEO from 2022 to 2023.
He said he accepted the position because the bank needed to move from a humanitarian footing toward a development model requiring greater international cooperation.
He moved to South Sudan full-time.
And he said he went there determined to operate a clean institution.
“As part of my anti-corruption stance, I can tell you, never once did anyone bring a dirty deal, as you would call it, to my desk or my bank while I was CEO,” O’Grady said.
“They knew that that’s not who we were and that it wouldn’t go anywhere.”
He said that while he was CEO, no government official or member of the country’s first family approached him about participating in an improper transaction.
But, he said, problems surfaced when the bank began examining historical transactions.
“We came across some historical issues and those people that were involved didn’t take kindly to being questioned on it,” he said.
That, O’Grady believes, was the beginning of the ordeal that eventually landed him in a Dubai prison.
‘It was no longer safe for us to be in the country’
O’Grady said the situation deteriorated to the point where he and his wife, Virginia, received serious threats.
“Given the outcome of all of this, it led to serious threats against Virginia and myself,” he said.
He said Virginia was pursued by national security officials and that he experienced a medical crisis and received threats.
“It boiled down to the fact that it was no longer safe for us to be in the country.”
The couple left South Sudan and moved to Dubai in late 2023.
The idea was to remain close enough to their work and family in Africa while also having greater security.
Instead, O’Grady says, the legal battle followed him.
His family and supporters have said an Interpol notice was used in connection with the case. In May, O’Grady’s supporters said the UAE Supreme Court had rejected his final appeal and that extradition to South Sudan had been approved.
A July statement from his wife described him as awaiting extradition over allegations made by his former employer, Kush Bank.
O’Grady said he believed the objective was never simply to resolve a banking dispute.
“This was not about a civil matter. This was not about criminal issues. This was about vengeance,” he said.
He alleges that people involved in what he describes as corrupt historical transactions wanted him returned to South Sudan.
“The goal was to get Ryan, to put him on a plane, to land him in South Sudan,” he said.
O’Grady said he believed he would have been in grave danger if that happened.
“It was stated clearly on numerous occasions that the goal was to get Ryan, to put him on a plane, to land him in South Sudan, and they just needed me on the tarmac at the airport to put the bullet in my head.”
Nearly 11 months inside Al Awir
Instead, O’Grady spent nearly 11 months in custody in the United Arab Emirates.
He was moved between facilities but spent much of his time at Al Awir prison on the outskirts of Dubai.
The experience took a significant toll on his health.
“I lost 17 kilograms,” he said.
He described overcrowding, constant lighting and extremely cold conditions.
“It’s quite crowded. It was not comfortable. It was freezing cold conditions all the time. The lights are on 24/7.”
He also said access to medical treatment and other resources was limited.
O’Grady developed several illnesses and a serious bacterial infection.
His concern was not simply his physical condition.
It was what would happen if he were transferred to South Sudan.
He feared the prison conditions there, combined with his medical problems, could prove fatal.
‘I resolved in my mind that my goal was to survive’
Through the darkest moments, O’Grady said his wife and daughter became his reason to keep going.
“The recordings that I was able to send out through Virginia, some of them were quite dark,” he said.
“I know because the days in there were also quite dark.”
As his legal battles continued and his health declined, he said there were times when maintaining hope became difficult.
“It was only through Virginia and our daughter that I was able to keep hope and our discussions, our brief discussions on a daily basis.”
“Basically I resolved in my mind that my goal was to survive for them.”
There was another source of strength.
Faith.
O’Grady said his family has been Catholic in Cobourg for generations.
“I’ve always been a practicing Catholic,” he said.
“And I thought I was a good Christian before in terms of my outlook. But 11 months behind bars brought me to a whole different relationship with my faith.”
“I drew so much strength through prayer and faith that I never knew was possible.”
Then, without warning, he was free
The strangest part of the entire ordeal may have been how it ended.
O’Grady said he had repeatedly been called by prison officials and told he was being released — only to discover that he was actually being transferred somewhere else.
So when officials told him Monday that he was finally being released, he didn’t believe them.
“I argued my entire way out of that prison,” he said.
“This was a familiar dance that I would get called over the system to come out and I would be told that I’m being released and then we would have this argument back and forth that, no, I can’t be released legally.”
This time, however, it was real.
He said officials put him into a transport vehicle.
At several stops, he continued questioning where they were taking him.
“I said to them, you know, guys, I don’t know where you’re taking me,” he recalled.
Eventually the vehicle went through the front gates of Al Awir.
It stopped at the side of the road.
“The door was opened and I was dropped on the side of the road sort of in the middle of nowhere outside of Dubai and said, ‘good luck.’”
The guard shook his hand.
Then the vehicle disappeared.
O’Grady was alone.
A local motorist eventually stopped and gave him a ride into central Dubai, where he could begin receiving medical attention.
Why was he released?
That question remains unanswered.
“As to the question, why did they let you go? Pete, that’s very much a mystery for everyone involved at the moment,” O’Grady said.
He said there are theories involving diplomatic relations between South Sudan and the UAE, actions by his legal team and advocacy by the Canadian government.
He does not know what role, if any, Ottawa played.
“I’m unable to comment,” he said.
“I leave that up to them.”
What he does know is that Canadian officials provided support throughout the ordeal.
“As Canadians, we are very blessed to have a professional civil service and diplomats on the ground, who do their utmost in the most difficult of circumstances,” he said.
“They keep their cool. They keep their focus. They keep their eye on the ball, so to speak, in terms of advocating for Canadians and for providing support to our families in these difficult situations.”
“And I am very grateful to them.”
The timing of O’Grady’s release has also coincided with a new Canadian diplomatic appointment.
On September 25, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand announced that Angad Singh Dhillon will become Canada’s next Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United Arab Emirates. Dhillon will replace Radha Krishna Panday.
O’Grady himself made no claim that the appointment was connected to his release.
A long road home
O’Grady wants to come home to Canada.
His wife, Virginia, and their daughter, Kayla, are already there.
For now, however, there are still legal and bureaucratic hurdles to overcome.
He said his lawyers are working through the process of clearing his name from the Interpol system so that he can cross international borders.
“I don’t know that I’ll make it in time for Thanksgiving dinner,” he said.
“But I do look forward to being in Canada.”
His future beyond that remains uncertain.
He does not intend to return to South Sudan anytime soon.
But Africa remains part of his life, just as Canada does.
“Half of my family still does live in Africa. Half are in Canada,” he said.
“Both areas are home.”
‘I’m truly overwhelmed’
After everything that has happened, O’Grady said he has been thinking less about anger and more about gratitude.
He spoke about the people in his hometown who advocated for him, supported his family and continued telling his story while he was behind bars.
He specifically thanked those who helped Virginia and Kayla during the months he was imprisoned.
“Your coverage and your support of my story as well as your support to my family has meant the world to me,” he told Today’s Northumberland.
“And I’m grateful to so many people from my hometown and home community for all of their efforts to advocate and speak out on my behalf and to help Virginia and Kayla as they came to the country and to be there for them.”
“Truly, I’m overwhelmed.”
Then came a rare moment when the normally talkative O’Grady struggled to find the right words.
“For a guy that’s never short on words,” he said, “I do not feel I’m adequately equipped to express the level of gratitude that I feel towards all of you.”
“So, all I can say is a very simple, and heartfelt thank you.”
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
