Ruler of Dubai Pays Record-Breaking Divorce Settlement
A Story of Lust, Deceit, Power, Mistrust, Abuse, Blackmail, Grift, Vengeance, Fear, and Money ... Lots of Money
I don’t normally follow these types of stories, but this one just called to me. I caught a headline that said, “Dubai Ruler Ordered to Pay More Than $728 Million in Divorce Settlement,” and I just thought, man that sucks. So, I clicked the bait. And boy is it more interesting than just the headline. It’s like an episode of “The Real Housewives of New York City.” This story is full of lust, deceit, power, mistrust, abuse, blackmail, grift, vengeance, fear, and money … lots of money. Oh man, it’s like watching a Lifetime movie!
The Characters
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is the Ruler of the Emirate of Dubai. He is an autocratic ruler and he does not tolerate dissent. The assets of the Government of Dubai and those of the Al Maktoum family are one and the same. Needless to say, he’s powerful and rich.
Princess Haya bint Hussein is the daughter of the deceased King Hussein of Jordan and Queen Alia. She is also the half-sister of the current King of Jordan, Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein.
The Marriage
In 2004, Sheikh Mohammed and Princess Haya got hitched. The princess — 25 years younger — is the sheikh’s second wife at this point in time.
As the hilarious Sinbad once said,
“All you men out here 55 years old trying to date some girl, 20, like she like you. Are you out your mind? She wants your house. … She wants you to die.”
Princess Haya and the sheikh supposedly sparked romance at an equestrian event in Spain.
“I was surprised Haya was marrying someone who was so Arab, because I always thought she’d end up with an English landowner,” says the friend of Haya. “But she was crazy about Sheik Mo—madly in love with him.”
It’s worth mentioning that the sheikh has had a total of six wives and has 30 kids!
The Affair
Apparently, Princess Haya was having an affair with her bodyguard, Russell Flowers. This brings to mind images of Kevin Coster and Whitney Houston.
But, the bodyguard — a former British soldier — was apparently in it for the cash. Or was he? Some say the princess’ security team allegedly blackmailed her to keep the scandal tight-lipped. Others say she simply paid as part of a non-disclosure agreement deal to keep the whole thing hush-hush. Testimony suggests that Princess Haya took $7.5 million from her daughter’s trust account to give to her bodyguard.
“I was scared and that was the money available in that account.”
The Spying
Sheikh Mohammed allegedly hacked the princess’ phone using Pegasus spyware. The software is licensed exclusively to nation-states for use by their security services, but obviously, power corrupts, and nothing is going to stop the sheikh.
The Pegasus software infects a target’s phone and is able to track location, read messages and emails, eavesdrop on phone calls, access passwords and photographs ... you name it. And it does all of this without the target’s knowledge, of course. It is supposedly extremely difficult for a target to detect that their phone has been infected with Pegasus.
Although the sheikh continues to deny the spying allegations, the hacking of Princess Haya’s phone came to light through testimony given by an expert technology witness, Dr. William Marczak, a senior research fellow at the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab, which researches digital surveillance.
Well, regardless if the sheikh admits to the spying or not, it is clear that he discovered the affair at this point.
The Escape
On April 15, 2019, Princess Haya left Dubai with their two children and headed for the UK. This was after 15 years of marriage. She didn’t flee to her home country, Jordan, likely to avoid any conflict for her half-brother — the King — considering Jordan’s financial support from the UAE. She first fled to Germany and then Britain. A month later, Sheikh Mohammed sued the Princess via the High Court of Justice in London, to try and get his kids back to Dubai.
Note that in 2018, the sheikh’s daughter, Princess Latifa (no relation to the great Queen Latifa), fled Dubai by boat, but was caught on her way to India only to be forcefully returned back. This is another crazy story in and of itself, most probably related. But, I won’t get into that.
The Aftermath
The princess got off with the money. The judge ordered the sheikh to pay the princess £550 million (~$734 million USD). I’m not a divorce lawyer, nor do I favor either of these people, but it seems a bit odd that the court awards the wife for having an affair. Purportedly, a large part of the settlement is for Haya’s family security to protect them from the sheikh. I understand that and I agree. I’m certain that the sheikh is out for vengeance. Punishment for infidelity — a capital offense in the UAE — is not less than 1 year in prison. This is quite ironic, to say the least, considering the sheikh apparently had multiple wives at the same time.
But, the remainder of the money was awarded to Princess Haya to enjoy the lifestyle to which she and her children have become accustomed. Perhaps Sinbad was right.
Princess Haya is now in London and she remains an envoy of the Embassy of Jordan. She has been granted diplomatic immunity and protection under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
Curiously, the bodyguards haven’t been charged with anything.