A Saudi sheikh and his wife face the prospect of losing their north London family home after a High Court judge dismissed their argument that the £8.3million property belongs to the wife under Islamic tradition.
Judge Joanna Valentine ruled yesterday against Sheikh Mohamed bin Issa al-Jaber and Makiyah al-Jaber, who had claimed the Hampstead Garden Suburb residence could not be seized by creditors pursuing approximately £80million in debts.
The couple maintained that Muslim custom dictates husbands must provide homes for their wives, with such properties then becoming the woman’s legal possession.
However, the property in question is solely registered in the sheikh’s name.
Despite this, Mrs Jaber argued she was the beneficial owner of the property where they have lived for 34 years.
The sheikh, now 67, once commanded a fortune estimated at £5.3billion before his business empire collapsed in 2013, the Times reports.
His wealth derived from ventures spanning luxury hotels, property development, oil and food industries.
The Saudi-born businessman, who has since acquired Austrian citizenship, saw one of his companies fall into administration nine years ago.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Issa al-Jaber (right) commanded a fortune estimated at £5.3 billion until his business empire collapsed in 2013
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MBI International & Partners, registered in the British Virgin Islands, entered liquidation proceedings that would eventually ensnare the family’s London residence.
A 2023 High Court judgment determined the sheikh was liable for debts owed to the company’s liquidators.
That sum has now grown to roughly £80million, which creditors seek to recover by placing a charge against the couple’s home near The Bishops Avenue.
Located in the lucrative Hampstead, north London, sheikh’s property is situated in an area that was once home to the likes Elizabeth Taylor and Greece’s final monarch, Constantine II.
Creditors seeking to recover the sheikh’s £80million worth of debt by placing a charge against the couple’s home in London’s high-end Hampstead
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Mrs Jaber presented multiple legal arguments to support her ownership claim during last week’s hearing.
She contended the property was held on trust for her, purchased by her husband in accordance with Islamic tradition.
Beyond religious custom, she asserted a “common intention constructive trust” had arisen through her “substantial contribution to the improvement of the property,” having managed the household and supervised extensive renovations over three decades.
Her third argument invoked proprietary estoppel, maintaining she had acted to her detriment by relying on the belief the home was hers throughout the past 30 years.
This claim applied even if her husband had never actually intended to transfer ownership to her, she argued.
Judge Valentine dismissed every argument put forward by Mrs Jaber, concluding the sheikh owned the residence both legally and in reality.
On the Islamic custom claim, the judge stated: “The only evidence I have is the submissions of the wife.
“I don’t have before me any expert evidence on the existence and extent of such a custom. It is simply something I do not know.”
The ruling noted Mrs Jaber had described the tradition as one where “the husband is responsible for providing a home for the wife and is responsible for buying her a house which is understood to be owned by her”.
Without independent verification of this practice, the court could not accept it as grounds for ownership.
The couple were also ordered to pay the liquidators’ legal costs, amounting to approximately £750,000.