Dubai's billionaire ruler inflicted 'exorbitant' domestic abuse on his ex-wife Princess Haya, court rules as it gives her sole custody of their children after £70MILLION legal battle
Dubai’s billionaire ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum inflicted ‘exorbitant’ domestic abuse on his ex-wife Princess Haya, a senior British judge has concluded, as he awarded her sole responsibility for looking after their children. The ruling caps the end of an extraordinary, bitter and hugely expensive three-year custody battle at the High Court in London between Mohammed and his former wife, Princess Haya bint al-Hussein, half-sister of Jordan’s King Abdullah. In a judgment published today, senior judge Sir Andrew McFarlane said Sheikh Mohammed, 72, ‘consistently displayed coercive and controlling behaviour with respect to those members of his family who he regards as behaving contrary to his will’. The judgement revealed how Princess Haya had paid out £7million to 'blackmailers' on her security staff to keep secret her affair with her British bodyguard, Russell Flowers, (circled left). Haya (middle) is seen next to Sheikh Mohammed on the right. Sir Andrew — the mo...