The British High Court rules that Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum will have no face-to-face contact with his two children as a result of abusive behaviour that stretches back decades
The ruler of Dubai, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, will have no face-to-face contact with the two children from his marriage to Princess Haya, after the High Court passed damning judgements on his ‘abusive behaviour’ earlier today.
In a written judgement, Sir Andrew McFarlane ruled that the Sheikh’s behaviour constituted domestic abuse ‘conducted on a scale which is entirely outside the ordinary circumstances of cases heard in the Family Court in this jurisdiction.’
The judgement was the culmination of a legal battle that has ensnared Dubai’s ruling family for over two years and addressed a string of historical abuses by the Sheikh that included the abduction and long-term confinement of his two adult daughters, the hacking of mobile devices belonging to Princess Haya and her legal team, and the secret purchase of a property overlooking the Princess’s home.
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‘The court now recognises the lasting impact, not just on the partner who experiences it, but on children and their wellbeing,’ said Deborah Jeff, Head of Family Law at Simkins, a London-based law firm.
‘It’s encouraging to now see the courts recognising the coercive/controlling element which for many years was so difficult to have taken seriously in our courts.’
In December last year, the Sheikh was ordered to pay Princess Haya $554 million as part of the largest divorce settlement in British history. The previous record
The previous record for the largest divorce settlement in Britain was the £450 million awarded in 2016 to Tatiana Akhmedova, the ex-wife of Russian oligarch Farkhad Akhmedov.
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