The High Court in London has ordered Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, to pay a British record of more than 554 million pounds ($733 million) to settle a custody battle with his ex-wife over their two children.
According to the judge, Philip Moor, the majority of the enormous judgment to Princess Haya bint al-Hussein, Jordan’s King Abdullah’s half-sister, and the couple’s two children is to secure their lifetime security, not least to meet the “grave risk” posed to them by the sheikh himself.
“She is not seeking an award for herself other than for security,” the judge noted, and to compensate her for the possessions she lost as a result of the divorce. He ordered Mohammed to pay Haya 251.5 million pounds in three months for the upkeep of her British residences, as well as money she claimed she owed for jewellery and racehorses, as well as future security expenditures.
The sheikh, who is also the UAE’s vice president and prime minister, was also ordered to pay 3 million pounds towards the education of Jalila, 14, and Zayed, 9, as well as 9.6 million pounds in arrears. He was also ordered to pay £11.2 million per year for the children’s upkeep and security when they reach adulthood.
Haya, 47, spoke for over seven hours, claiming that a significant one-time payment would allow for a clean break and remove the sheikh’s control over her and their children. “I really want to be free and I want them to be free,” she told the court
