Dubai Ruler Ordered to Pay Ex-Wife $700 Million in Divorce Settlement

The United Kingdom High Court ordered Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of Dubai, to pay £550 million (roughly Rs 5,515 crore) in a divorce settlement to his former wife and their children.

According to reports, this is one of the largest divorce settlements in British history. Judge Philip Moor ruled that Al-Maktoum must pay Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein £251.5 million (roughly Rs 2,522 crore) and make annual payments of £5.6 million (roughly Rs 56 crore) to their children, 14-year-old Al Jalila and 9-year-old Zayed, backed by a £290 million (roughly Rs 2,908 crore) guarantee.

The amount of money the children receive could be more or less than the £290 million promise, depending on a number of things, including how long they live and whether they reconcile with their father.

The settlement also involves annual payment of £11 million (about Rs 110 crore) to cover Princess Haya's and the children's security expenditures while they are minors.

Haya, the daughter of Jordan's former King Hussein, escaped to Britain with her children from Dubai in 2019, according to the reports. Haya had expressed concern for her safety after learning that Al-Maktoum had previously kidnapped two of his other daughters, Sheikha Shamsa and Sheikha Latifa, and taken them to Dubai against their will.

The abducted charges were refuted by the 72-year-old Sheikh. A second High Court judgement this year, however, had concluded that the claims were "in all probability, true".

After Al-Maktoum found that Haya was having an affair with one of her bodyguards, he released a poem titled You Lived, You Died, which Haya described as menacing. She claimed she received texts claiming "we can reach you anywhere" after relocating to the United Kingdom.

In an earlier verdict this year, the High Court's family division found that Al-Maktoum had hacked Haya's, her bodyguards', and her legal team's cell phones. Pegasus spyware from Israeli firm NSO Group was used to access the phones. The charges were refuted by the sheikh.

Justice Moor noted in the divorce judgment that Haya and her children were particularly vulnerable. The judge stated that they required "watertight security" to ensure their safety in the United Kingdom. He claimed that the primary threat they faced came from their father, who had access to the "whole weight of the state."

"For these youngsters, there is a clear and ever-present risk that is practically certain to endure until they achieve their independence," Judge added.

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