Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is seen with his wife Princess Haya at a media forum in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on May 10, 2016. File Photo by Ali Haider/EPA-EFE
Dec. 21 (UPI) — A British court on Tuesday ordered that the ruler of Dubai must pay his wife, Princess Haya, and their children more than $700 million in one of Britain’s most expensive divorce settlements in history.
The High Court of London said that Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum must pay his ex-wife about $330 million and ongoing payments for their two young children totaling close to $400 million.
Princess Haya and the children fled to Britain in 2019. She said that she took the children because they feared Sheikh Mohammed, who is also prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and an ally to Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.
A British family court ruled in October that Sheikh Mohammed had approved the hacking of Princess Haya’s cellphone at one point during their separation. File Photo by Mohammed Tawil/UPI
British courts have previously ruled that Sheikh Mohammed likely abducted their two other children and made efforts to spy on Princess Haya after she left, including making an attempt to buy a $39 million home next to Haya’s in Berkshire.
“They are particularly vulnerable and need water-tight security to ensure their continued safety and security in this country,” the High Court said on Tuesday, according to The Guardian.
“The main threat they face is from [the sheikh] himself, not from outside sources.”
A spokesperson for Sheikh Mohammed said the 72-year-old Dubai ruler has always provided for his children.
“He has always ensured that his children are provided for,” they said, according to The Guardian. “The court has now made its ruling on finances and he does not intend to comment further.”