UK Court Orders Dubai Monarch to Pay Approx. 870 Billion Won Divorce Settlement... Largest Amount Ever

The Largest Divorce Settlement Ordered by a UK Court to Date is ?453 Million Paid by Russian Tycoon Parkhad Akhmedov to His Ex-Wife

The King of Dubai (right) and his sixth wife, Princess Haya of Jordan (left).
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Soyoung] The ruler of Dubai has been ordered by a UK court to pay the most expensive divorce settlement in history. Until now, the largest divorce settlement ordered by a UK court was ?453 million paid by Russian billionaire Pakhard Akhmedov to his ex-wife.

On the 21st (local time), the High Court in London ordered Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (72), Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and ruler of Dubai, to pay a divorce settlement of ?554 million (approximately 870 billion KRW).

According to the ruling, Prime Minister Mohammed must pay a lump sum of ?251.5 million (397.6 billion KRW) within three months for security costs and other expenses to his sixth wife, Princess Haya bint Al Hussein (47). Additionally, annual payments must be made for the security of their 14-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son, with ?290 million (458 billion KRW) guaranteed as a bank deposit for these expenses.

Earlier, in early 2019, Princess Haya fled to the UK via Germany with their two children after her husband discovered her affair with a bodyguard who was a former British soldier. She filed a custody lawsuit, with the costs of the legal proceedings reportedly reaching $100 million.

During the custody battle, a UK court ruling in October confirmed that King Mohammed had approved or implied the installation of the spyware "Pegasus" on Princess Haya’s phone to hack it.

However, Prime Minister Mohammed stated in a press release, "I have always denied the allegations," and added, "As a monarch involved in a private family lawsuit, it is not appropriate to provide evidence on sensitive matters in a foreign court." Mohammed is also implicated in the abduction cases of Princess Latifa and Princess Shamsa, daughters from other wives.

In this trial, it was revealed that Princess Haya had an affair with a bodyguard and paid ?6.7 million to four security team members, including the other party, in early 2018 to prevent them from exposing the affair.

Regarding this, Prime Minister Mohammed’s side accused Princess Haya of withdrawing the money from the children’s accounts to make the payments, but the court showed leniency, stating, "It would have been preferable if Princess Haya had used her own money, but she was in a very difficult situation and desperate not to be discovered by the ruler."

Princess Haya graduated from Oxford University and is a renowned equestrian athlete. Her husband, Prime Minister Mohammed, is the Prime Minister of the UAE federation composed of seven emirates. He is a famous large-scale racehorse owner and is known to be close to Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.