UK court orders Dubai’s ruler to pay ex-wife over $700 million in divorce settlement

LONDON – Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has been ordered by a court in the United Kingdom to provide his estranged wife and their children at least 554 million pounds ($734 million) to settle a custody battle.

A judge of the High Court in London ordered him to pay Princess Haya Bint al-Hussein, half-sister of Jordan's King Abdullah, 251.5 million pounds within three months to cover security and lost items like jewelery and clothing.

He must also make annual payments of around 11 million pounds toward costs for his children while they are in education, which will be secured by a 290 million-pound bank guarantee, Al Jazeera quoted the ruling as saying.

Judge Philip Moor said that the compensation would provide Princess Haya with a “clean break” from the Dubai’s ruler following their divorce.

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 due to divorce.

The sheikh said in a statement that he “has always ensured that his children are provided for.”

During the case, Princess Haya revealed that she was “under siege,” and that the sheikh’s surveillance of her “could not be more intrusive and distressing”.

Princess Haya said during the hearing that her reliance on periodical payments would put “incredible additional pressure” on the family because they will “be living always under the shadow of possible litigation.”

The judge acknowledged the “truly opulent and unprecedented standard of living enjoyed by these parties in Dubai” and said he had to reach “a conclusion as to what is reasonable while remembering that the exceptional wealth and remarkable standard of living enjoyed by these children during the marriage takes this case entirely out of the ordinary.”