Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Need 5 Housekeepers, Couture: Dubai Ruler's Ex-Wife In $733 Million Win

Need 5 Housekeepers, Couture: Dubai Ruler's Ex-Wife In $733 Million Win

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum has been directed to make a one-off payment of 251.5 million pounds within three months to his ex-wife for the upkeep of her British mansions, to cover the money she said she was owed for jewellery and racehorses, and for her future security costs.

Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, has been ordered by the High Court in London to provide a British record of more than 554 million pounds ($733 million) to settle a custody battle with his ex-wife over their two children.

The bulk of the massive award to Princess Haya bint al-Hussein, half-sister of Jordan's King Abdullah, and the couple's two children, is to ensure their lifetime security, not least to address the "grave risk" posed to them by the sheikh himself, the judge, Philip Moor, said.

The judge said: "She is not asking for an award for herself other than for security" and to compensate her for the possessions she lost as a result of the marital breakdown.

He directed Mohammed to make a one-off payment of 251.5 million pounds within three months to Haya for the upkeep of her British mansions, to cover the money she said she was owed for jewellery and racehorses, and for her future security costs.

The sheikh, vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, was also told to provide 3 million pounds towards the education of Jalila, 14, and Zayed, 9, and 9.6 million pounds in arrears. He was also asked to pay 11.2 million pounds a year for the children's maintenance, and for their security when they become adults.

These payments will be guaranteed via a 290 million pound security held by HSBC bank. The final sum, despite being believed by some London lawyers to be the largest public award ever ordered by an English family court, is less than half of the 1.4 billion pounds that Haya had originally sought.

During almost seven hours of testimony, Haya, 47, said a large one-off payment would allow for a clean break and remove the sheikh's hold over her and their children.

"I really want to be free and I want them to be free," she told the court.

The huge financial settlement is the latest development in a legal saga that began when the princess fled to Britain in April 2019, fearing for her safety after she began an affair with one of her bodyguards, and a month after she had asked the sheikh for a divorce.

Later that year, the London court ruled Mohammed had carried out a campaign of threats and intimidation that made her fear for her life, and that he had also previously abducted and mistreated two of his daughters by another marriage.

Earlier this year, the President of the Family Division in England and Wales, a senior judge, also determined that Mohammed had ordered the phones of Haya and her lawyers, one of whom is a parliamentary lawmaker, to be hacked using the sophisticated "Pegasus" state security software.

Haya had not asked for any divorce settlement. She did not offer an explanation, but her lawyers said she would have been entitled to seek billions as the ex-wife of one of the world's richest men.

"The mother's financial claims, and the size of the relief that's being sought, are quite unprecedented," the sheikh's lawyer, Nigel Dyer, told the court during hearings which could not be reported until Tuesday.

He said her demands were excessive and she was really claiming for herself under the guise of her children. He also accused the princess of misusing the children's funds, saying that she had paid out 6.7 million pounds to blackmailers, who were part of her security team, to keep an affair quiet.

The court did not hear from the alleged blackmailers. Haya said she used money from the children's accounts because she was frightened.

The 70 Million Pound Court Fight


Haya's lawyer, Nicholas Cusworth, said legal fees over two and a half years had reached more than 70 million pounds, adding "the true extent of the colossal sums spent by (Mohammed) will never be known".

The bulk of Haya's financial award will go on security, according to the details of the settlement. This was to keep the children safe from being abducted by their own father, the ruling said, including cash for a fleet of armoured cars which would be replaced every few years.

Moor said Haya and her children needed the extensive provision to protect them from the sheikh, as well as because of their royal status.

"Absolutely uniquely, the main threat they face is from (the sheikh) himself not from outside sources," Moor said.

"There will remain a clear and ever present risk to (Haya) for the remainder of her life, whether it be from (Mohammed) or just from the normal terrorist," he said, referring to security threats faced by someone in Haya's position.

Such were the concerns that Haya's head of security - known only as 'Director 1' - had to be brought into the courtroom to give evidence about her security needs with the windows blacked out, shielded with a curtain from all except Moor and two lawyers, and his name handed to the judge on a piece of paper.

Limitless Money


Haya's lawyers told the judge the money available to the princess and the children in Dubai had been "limitless", with access to more than a dozen luxurious homes, a 400 million pound yacht and a fleet of private planes.

She had an annual budget of more than 83 million pounds for her household in Dubai with another 9 million pounds spending money, the ruling said. Mohammed's lawyer acknowledged to the court he could raise 1.25 billion pounds in cash within three months.

"I remind myself that money was no object during the marriage," Moor said in approving Haya's claim for 1.9 million pounds to be spent on a kitchen extension, pizza oven and kitchen curtains at her London home.

Moor said he would not give "carte blanche" to Haya's financial claims, but would consider her demands "with a very clear eye to the exceptional circumstances of this case, such as the truly opulent and unprecedented standard of living enjoyed by these parties in Dubai".

Haya told the court it was not excessive for her to ask for millions to pay for five housekeepers, clothing, upkeep of her two mansions, one estimated to be worth about 100 million pounds, and regular holidays.

Her jewellery, in total valued at some 20 million pounds, would fill the courtroom if spread out, she said.

Moor ordered Mohammed to pay her 1 million pounds for missing haute couture garments which she said had disappeared and 5 million to cover nine weeks of vacations for her and family members every year.

"She is not, in the context of this case, wealthy," her lawyer, Cusworth, said. The ruling said she had been forced to sell 15.6 million pounds of assets - including horses worth 10 million and 2.1 million pounds worth of jewellery - to make ends meet while she waited for the final settlement.

He said her demands should be seen in the context that Mohammed had a 2 million pound bill for buying strawberries one summer for his country estate, northeast of London.

However, the sheikh's lawyer, Dyer, described many of Haya's claims as "absurd" or "ridiculous", and said they were totally at odds with her stated desire for her children to lead a normal life.

He said the judge's ruling was likely to be "the largest financial remedy award certainly ever ordered and I imagine ever made by a family court".

The previous largest sum ever thought to have been ordered by a British court was the 453.6 million pounds that Russian billionaire Farkad Akhmedov was instructed to pay for his 2016 divorce settlement.

Mohammed, 72, had offered to pay regular maintenance sums of 10 million pounds a year, and provide a 500 million pound guarantee which Dyer said would "hang like a sword of Damocles" over his head and that of his family.

In his conclusion, Moor said he found Haya's evidence to be "palpably honest".

To Mohammed, the princess's lawyer Cusworth said, "the actual value of money is very different to any normal mortal involved in this case or any litigant who normally comes before this court".

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
EU Proposes Phasing Out Russian Oil and Gas by End of 2027 to End Energy Dependence
More Than 150,000 Followers for a Fictional Character: The New Influencers Are AI Creations
EU Prepares for War
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Druzhba Pipeline Incident Sparks Geopolitical Tensions
×