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Dubai ruler used Pegasus spyware to hack ex-wife Princess Haya: report

by Sarakshi Rai 10/06/21 03:10 PM CDT

Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum hacked the phone of his ex-wife, Jordan’s Princess Haya, and those of her legal team after she fled to London amid a divorce and custody dispute, a U.K. high court judge has found.

Judge Andrew McFarlane said that the findings “represent a total abuse of trust, and indeed an abuse of power, to a significant extent.”

The phone numbers for Princess Haya — half-sister of Jordan’s King Abdullah — and members of her legal and security teams, were among those found on a list of 50,000 numbers targeted by Pegasus spyware.

The military-grade spyware, licensed by the Israeli firm NSO Group, were used in attempts to hack into smartphones belonging to thousands of world leaders, activists and journalists, according to an investigation released in July by The Washington Post and 16 media partners.

The U.K. high court judgement said “the mobile phones of the mother (Princess Haya), two of her solicitors, her personal assistant and two members of her security staff had been the subject of either successful or attempted infiltration by surveillance software. The software used is called Pegasus software and was that of an Israeli company, the NSO Group.”

NSO has said it has 60 customers in 40 countries, including intelligence, military and law enforcement agencies. Its chief executive, Shalev Hulio, said the company was aware that some customers misuse its products, and investigated “every allegation.”

Princess Haya’s phone was purported to have been hacked 11 times in July and August last year on Sheikh Mohammed’s “express or implied authority”. The hacking attempts came during a U.K. court case on the welfare of their two children and the ensuing custody and divorce battle between the two Arab royals.

The court documents also detail Princess Haya’s allegations against her ex-husband that “the software used for this surveillance included the capacity to track the target’s location, the reading of SMS and email messages and other messaging apps, listening to telephone calls and accessing the target’s contact lists, passwords, calendars and photographs. It would also allow recording of live activity and taking of screenshots and pictures.”

The rulings also found that the Dubai ruler tried to purchase a $40 million mansion overlooking the princess’ home in the U.K.

“I wish to make it plain that I regard the findings that I have now made to be of the utmost seriousness in the context of the children’s welfare,” Judge McFarland added. “They may well have a profound impact upon the ability of the mother and of the court to trust him with any but the most minimal and secure arrangements for contact with his children in the future.”

Sheikh Mohammad has denied the allegations in the ruling.

“I have always denied the allegations made against me and I continue to do so,” The Washington Post reported he said in a statement. “In addition, the findings were based on evidence that was not disclosed to me or my advisers. I therefore maintain that they were made in a manner which was unfair.”