A British court has ordered Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (72), the ruler of Dubai which is an emirate of the U.A.E to pay close to 550 million pounds ($730 million) to his ex-wife and their children. It is considered to be the highest payment amount in the history of divorce mediation in the United Kingdom.
Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein ( 47), the ex-wife of Emir Muhammad, is the sister of King Abdullah Ibu al Hussein of Jordan and their children are Jalila (14) and Zayed (9). She lives in London with her two children. UAE Vice President and Prime Minister Muhammad has fought a long and fierce court battle with Princess Haya.
The payment includes child support and post-adult security. A lump sum payment of £ 251.5 million is to be paid to Princess Haya, and a bank guarantee of £ 290 million ( $385 million). The mother and children live in a mansion near London’s Kensington Palace worth more than $115 million.
The settlement includes about $18 million for jewellery and more than $1 for haute couture that the princess left in Dubai when she fled — as well as $6.5 million for annual vacations.
The sheikh was given three months to come up with a $333 million lump sum for the princess — as well as more than $16 million he owed for the education of their children.
Haya was the youngest of the sheikh’s six wives. She fled to the UK in April 2019, fearing for her safety after she began an affair with one of her bodyguards, the court was told. That bodyguard — who was identified in court — then blackmailed her along with other members of the security team, with the princess so fearful that she paid them nearly $9 million to hide the affair, the court heard.
Judge Philip Moor of the British High Court said that children were at risk of being taken away by Sheik Muhammad and that they needed to be safe. Considering the wealth and high standard of living, he explained that a huge amount of payment would be required.
The British High Court has previously confirmed that Chief Muhammad used spyware to intercept information from his ex-wife’s cell phone and forcibly brought two other daughters back to Dubai.