Gold divorce: Dubai emir must give $ 730 million to ex-wife

The emir of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, has ordered British justice to pay about 550 730 million ($ XNUMX million) to his ex-wife and their two children as part of a divorce settlement.

In particular, the Supreme Court ruled that the Emir of Dubai should pay 251,5 14 million to his sixth wife, Princess Haya bid al-Hussein, as well as make annual payments for their two children - 9-year-old Al Jalila and Zayed. , 290 years old - under a bank guarantee of XNUMX million pounds.

The total amount that children will receive may be greater or less than 290 million, as it depends on various factors. The arrangement includes 11 XNUMXm a year to be paid for Haya and her children while they are minors.

The emir of Dubai will have to pay a lump sum of 251,5 million to his wife within three months, for the maintenance of his villas in Britain, for money that she claimed owed to her for jewelry and racehorses, as well as for future costs for its security.

Although the amount is considered a record for a British court, it is much less than the 1,4 billion pounds originally claimed by Princess Haya, half-sister of the King of Jordan, Abdullah.

The largest amount that will be paid will be for the safety of herself and her children, especially from the "serious danger" that the sheikh himself poses for them, Judge Philip Moore pointed out.

"She is not seeking monetary compensation for her, only for the security and for the compensation of the existing ones that she lost due to the dissolution of the marriage", the judge pointed out.

"The main threat they face is from himself (the sheikh) and not from external sources," he said of Haya and the two children.

"There will remain a clear and ever-present danger for the rest of her life, either from Mohammed or just from a regular terrorist," the judge added.

During a deposition that lasted almost seven hours, the 47-year-old said that a large lump sum payment would allow her and her children to escape the sheikh's influence. "I really want to be free and I want them to be free," he told the court.

Following the ruling, a sheikh's spokesman said he "always ensured that his children were financially supported" and called on the media to respect his privacy.

The settlement is the latest development in a legal dispute that began when the princess fled to Britain in April 2019, fearing for her safety over her relationship with one of her bodyguards and a month after she had filed for divorce from the sheikh.

Later that year, a British court ruled that the sheikh had launched a campaign of threats and intimidation that made her fear for her life, as well as that he had previously abducted and abused his two daughters from a previous marriage.

Earlier this year, a British court ruled that Mohammed had ordered the hacking of Haya's and her lawyers's lawyers - including a member of parliament - with Pegasus surveillance software.