London: A British court on Tuesday ordered the ruler of Dubai to pay 550 million pounds (730 million) to his ex-wife and their children, one of the most expensive divorce settlements in British history.
The High Court said that Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum must pay £251.5 million to his sixth wife, Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, and for their children, 14-year-old Al Jalila and 9-year-old Zayed, under a bank guarantee of 290 will have to pay. million pounds.
The total amount the children will receive can be more or less than £290 million, depending on factors such as how long they live and whether they reconcile with their fathers. The agreement includes £11 million a year to cover security costs if Princess Haya and the children are minors.
Judge Philip Moore said the family desperately needed protection, “and this is absolutely typical, the main threat to them came from Sheikh Mohammed rather than from outside sources.
Haya, 47, fled to the UK in 2019 and sought custody of her two children through the British courts. The princess, who is the daughter of the late Jordanian King Hussein, said she fears her husband, who is alleged to have ordered the forced return of her two daughters to the Gulf emirate.
Sheikh Mohammed, 72, is also the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and a leading horse breeder. The founder of the successful Godolphin horse racing stable, he is on friendly terms with Queen Elizabeth II.
A graduate of Oxford University, Haya is also a keen equestrian and competed in show jumping for Jordan at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
A separate British family court judge ruled in October that Sheikh Mohammed had authorized the hacking of Princess Haya’s phone during their legal battle.
Judge Andrew MacFarlane said the sheikh had given his explicit or implied authority to hack the phones of the princess and her lawyers using Pegasus spyware manufactured by the NSO Group of Israel, the court said. The software is specifically licensed to nation-states for the use of their security services.
Sheikh Mohammed denied knowledge of the hacking.
MacFarlane had previously ruled that Sheikh Mohammed had launched a campaign of fear and intimidation against his estranged wife and ordered the abduction and abduction of their two adult daughters and forced their return to Dubai: Sheikha Shamsa in August 2000 and His sister Sheikha Latifa in 2002 and again in 2018
The divorce bill eclipsed the £450 million settlement Tatiana Akhmedova had to break from Russian billionaire Farkhad Akhmedov in 2016, cited as Britain’s costliest divorce at the time.
Tuesday’s settlement includes a holiday budget of £5.1 million, an annual sum of just over £450,000 for the children’s staff and about £275,000 for their animals, which include two ponies and a horse.
It is possible, but rare, for a financial divorce settlement to be appealed in England.
A spokesman for Sheikh Mohammed said in a statement that the ruler has always ensured that his children are provided for. The court has now delivered its verdict on finances and does not intend to comment further.
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