The court ordered the Emir of Dubai to pay more than $ 700 million to his ex—wife, Princess Haya, who fled to London
Today, news has appeared in the press about one of the most high-profile, scandalous and expensive divorce proceedings of recent times. On Tuesday, the UK High Court awarded a lump sum payment of 251.5 million pounds to Princess Haya Bint al-Hussein, the 47-year-old daughter of former King Hussein of Jordan and the youngest of six wives of 72-year-old Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, a multi-billionaire and ruler of Dubai. Another 290 million pounds will be paid as a guarantee for the maintenance of the children of Mohamed Al Maktoum and Princess Haya, 14-year-old Jalila and 9-year-old Zayed. All together, this is more than $ 700 million.
The couple's separation was not smooth — in 2019, Princess Haya and her children fled to the UK. At the same time, it became known that Haya was cheating on her spouse at that time with a married British bodyguard. A number of British and American media (including The New York Post and The Telegraph) wrote that Haya paid about 7 million pounds to her security staff to keep the affair a secret, but everything secret still became clear. After that, the princess began to fear for her life and hurried to leave Dubai. She has been living in London ever since.
The court decision states that Princess Haya should be paid sums to cover the costs of maintaining two properties worth several million pounds - we are talking about a house next to London's Kensington Palace, as well as her main residence in Egham, Surrey.
The court also ruled that Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum must pay the bills for armored cars, private planes, helicopters and a staff of bodyguards to ensure the safety of Princess Haya and her children. For these purposes, the court determined a budget of 11 million pounds per year.
It is ironic that the threat, according to the court, comes precisely from the one who should pay for its removal — that is, from the sheikh himself.
There are also expenses for vacations, salaries and accommodation of a nurse and a nanny, and expenses for the maintenance of various pets.
The sheikh himself has always denied all the accusations against him, but the court took into account a number of facts that did not speak in favor of Haya's ex-husband.
Thus, a high-ranking judge of the High Court concluded that the sheikh organized the abduction in Cambridge in 2000 of one of his daughters, Sheikha Shamsa, after she tried to escape from Dubai. A similar fate befell his second daughter, Sheikh Latifa, who tried to escape from the UAE aboard a yacht in 2018, but was caught off the coast of India. The sheikh was also accused of trying to buy up land near the country estate of Princess Haya in Surrey, as well as hacking the mobile phones of the princess and her lawyers.