Dubai's Billionaire Ruler Kidnapped Children, Threatened & Scared Ex-Wife, Says UK High Court  

In a shocking case, Dubai's billionaire ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum had ordered the abduction of two of his daughters and put his former wife to a "campaign of fear and intimidation", according to a British court. He is also the vice-president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).  

According to a CNN report, Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, ran away from the UAE last April after being scared of her husband, Sheikh Mohammed. She feared for her safety after rumours spread that she had an affair with one of her British bodyguards. 

Soon after she fled, the 70-year-old applied for their two children to be returned to the Gulf kingdom. He has a son eight and a daughter, 12. 

The UK High Court, in a judgement published on Thursday, said that such behaviour from Sheikh Mohammed is provable through his previous conduct, which includes orchestrating the kidnapping of his daughter. 

"The mother made a number of allegations to the effect that the father had conducted a campaign, by various means, with the aim of harassing, intimidating or otherwise putting the mother in great fear both in early 2019 when she was still in Dubai and at all times since her move to England in April 2019," the court said that such allegations have been found provable.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Mohammed criticised the judgement, and called the court's assessment as a one-sided case. 

Princess Haya was the sixth wife of Sheikh Mohammed and the third female family member to leave the UAE. Before her, two of his daughters from another marriage have previously tried to flee from the country. Sheikh, married Princess Haya in 2004 and had divorced her on February 2019, without her knowing about it, CNN further reported.