WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 22 , 2021. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE A
BY RACHEL PANNETT
French police have uncovered
182,000 fake health passes since
the documents were introduced
this summer in a bid to control the
spread of the coronavirus.
President Emmanuel Macron in-
troduced the official passes in July,
and they have become necessary to
gain access to numerous venues,
including bars, restaurants and
many long-distance trains. They
can be obtained through vaccina-
tion, recovery from covid-19 or a
recent negative test.
Interior Minister Gérald Darm-
anin last week asked police to step
up their investigations into the
criminal networks or individuals
behind the fake passes, as con-
cerns grow about the highly conta-
gious new omicron variant. On
Monday, he said the fake docu-
ments were detected “as part of
the 400 ongoing investigations.”
The minister didn’t provide de-
tails on any arrests or individuals
involved. He has previously said
some cases had been traced to
health professionals.
“Using, procuring or selling
false health passes, in particular
via social networks, is punishable
by 5 years in prison and a 75,
euro fine,” Darmanin said in a
statement posted on Twitter. He
has previously condemned the
fake documents as “death passes.”
The introduction of France’s
health pass prompted weeks-long
nationwide protests this summer.
Even though the rallies have
shrunk in size, incidents of van-
dalism against vaccination cen-
ters and other sites continue to be
reported.
The police crackdown on fake
passes comes as France and other
nations are tightening restrictionsin the face of the highly transmis-
sible omicron variant, which is
spreading at lightning speed
across the European continent.
The Netherlands was the first to
enter a full-scale lockdown Sun-
day, with nonessential stores, bars
and restaurants closed until at
least Jan. 14. Scientists are push-
ing British Prime Minister Boris
Johnson to take tougher measures
to slow the exploding number of
new infections, although so far he
has said no rules would change.
Officials in Paris are reluctant
to impose new curfews or lock-
downs on people who have been
vaccinated. But officials argue
that the threat of the omicron
variant means authorities have to
increase pressure on those refus-
ing vaccination. France recorded
367,297 new cases in the past
week, according to Johns Hopkins
University data, shy of a previousweekly record of 422 ,68 1 set in
November 2020.
French Prime Minister Jean
Castex said Friday that the govern-
ment will propose a bill in Parlia-
ment in January to change the
official health pass into a “vaccine
pass,” meaning only vaccinated
people will be allowed to enter
indoor public places such as bars,
restaurants and cinemas.
About 72 percent of the country
is fully vaccinated, according to
Washington Post data.
Marine Le Pen, leader of
France’s far-right nationalist par-
ty, has said from the outset that the
health pass was a “backward step
for individual freedoms” and
views the planned vaccine pass as
akin to mandatory vaccination.
“French people are losing indi-
vidual freedoms,” she said on T V
channel BFM over the weekend.
[email protected]France discovers 182,000 fake covid health passes
ALASTAIR GRANT/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sheikh M ohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum and Princess Haya Bint
al-Hussein attend the 2 013 Royal Ascot horse race i n England.BY LIZ SLY
london — A British judge on
Tuesday shed light on the lavish
lifestyle of Dubai’s ruling family
by awarding a record-breaking
settlement worth in excess of
$720 million to a princess in her
custody battle with the ruler of
the emirate.
The settlement concludes a
long-running and acrimonious
case that has played out in British
courts between Princess Haya
Bint al-Hussein, 47, daughter of
the late King Hussein of Jordan,
and her ex-husband, Sheikh Mo-
hammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum,
the multibillionaire ruler of
Dubai.
During the trial, the court
heard details of the immense lux-
ury in which the princess lived
before she fled Dubai with her two
children, Zayed, 9, and Jalila, 14.
But the case also exposed a dark
side to the glittering image of the
Dubai royal family, including Mo-
hammed’s abusive behavior
toward his wife and children,
which prompted Haya to file for
divorce and flee to Britain in 2019,
saying that she feared for their
lives.
The judge agreed that she faced
genuine risks and awarded the
bulk of the settlement toward pro-
viding potentially a lifetime of
security for the princess and her
children, including armored cars,
cyber-protection, cameras and
ballistic safeguards and body-
guards.
In October, a court ruled that
Mohammed had used Israeli com-
pany NSO Group’s Pegasus spy-
ware to hack the phones of Haya,
along with those of the closest
members of her inner circle.
The court also heard evidence
that Mohammed had abducted
and brought back to Dubai two of
his daughters, Princesses Latifa
and Shamsa. Mohammed alleged-
ly sought to buy a property neigh-
boring one of Haya’s homes and
issued threats to her life, includ-
ing a text message that said, “We
can find you anywhere.”
Justice Philip Moor, the High
Court judge who presided over
the case, said in his statement
detailing the award that there is
no question that Haya and her
children face an ongoing threat to
their safety from her former hus-
band. “The main threat they face
is from [Mohammed], not from
outside sources,” he said.
Mohammed, who did not at-
tend any of the hearings, has de-
nied all the charges through his
lawyer. In a statement on Monday,
a spokesman for the sheikh did
not contest the amount. He said
that Mohammed had “always en-
sured that his children are provid-
ed for” and requested that the
media respect their privacy.
In total, the award comprises a
lump sum of $333 million to cover
living costs as well as annual pay-
ments for the children’s education
and security, to be secured with a
guarantee of $385 million. Be-
cause it is unclear how long the
annual payments will last, it is
difficult to put a final total on the
amount, but lawyers say it ranks
as the largest single divorce pay-
out in i n British legal history.
In justifying the amounts,
Moor cited the need to preserve
the “truly opulent and unprec-
edented standard of living en-
joyed by these parties.”
In addition to security, the
amounts are intended to cover the
costs of the upkeep of Haya’s two
homes, near Kensington Palace in
London and in the suburban town
of Egham in Surrey, as well as
vacations, clothes, horses and sal-
aries for staff. The costs were dili-
gently itemized — $500,000 for
food during vacations; $368,
to maintain three horses and oth-er pets for the children; $51,000 to
replace two Somersault Sunken
trampolines they had owned at
their palace in Dubai.
Haya had originally sought in
excess of $1.1 billion, but the judge
reduced many of her claims. A
request for $42 million to replace
the haute couture wardrobe she
was forced to leave behind in
Dubai was cut to $1.3 million be-
cause, the judge said, he was un-
able to put a price on the items of
clothing he was shown in a video.
A request for $26 million worth
of jewelry was reduced to $18 mil-
lion. A budget for the costs of
hiring private planes for vaca-
tions was cut from $2.3 million to
$1.3 million. Moor said he did not
believe children should go on va-
cation too often, especially when
they have school examinations
coming up.
Among the requests the judge
threw out was the cost of a car
collection for Haya’s son because,
he noted, it wasn’t necessary for a
9-year-old to own cars.
It was, however, important, he
said, that the children “should be
able to have a lifestyle that is not
entirely out of kilter with that
enjoyed by them in Dubai.”
But Moor allowed the cost of a
$1.9 million renovation to Haya’s
kitchen in London, including a
pizza oven. “I remind myself that
money was no object during the
marriage,” he said, by way of ex-
planation.
While living in Dubai, Haya,
who was Mohammed’s sixth and
youngest wife, received an annual
budget of more than $100 million
to run her household, and herchildren were given allowances in
excess of $10 million a year each,
the court had been told.
She would routinely spend vast
amounts on vacations, including
the hiring of private yachts and
travel by helicopter. The hotel bill
for one vacation in Italy came to
more than $800,000, the judge
noted. He awarded her $6.7 mil-
lion to spend on vacations.
Her lawyer, Nicholas Cus-
worth, told reporters that Haya
was not, “in the context of this
case, wealthy.” She had been
forced to sell jewelry and race-
horses worth $20 million while
waiting for the settlement, and he
said her legal fees had amounted
to more than $90 million.
Mohammed’s lawyer Nigel
Dyer described some of Haya’s
claims as “absurd” and said she
was seeking to enrich herself in
the guise of providing for her chil-
dren. He cited an allegation,
which was not mentioned by the
judge in his ruling, that Haya had
an affair with a bodyguard and
paid more than $8 million to
blackmailers to stop them from
revealing the liaison.
Moor ruled that the fabulous
wealth enjoyed by the princess
and her children before the di-
vorce “takes this case entirely out
of the ordinary.”
“It will be quite impossible to
replicate, pound for pound, the
standard of living enjoyed before
their parents separated,” he said.
The judgment was awarded in
pounds, and the amounts report-
ed in this story have been convert-
ed to dollars.
[email protected]Judge awards Dubaiprincess $720 milliondivorce settlementB ritish court’s record
ruling shows l avish
lifestyle of royal familyThe m onetary awardfor the Dubai princessand her children ismeant to p reserve the“truly opulent andunprecedented standardof living enjoyed bythese parties.”
Justice Philip Moor, High Court
judge who presided over the caseERDEM SAHIN/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK
BY KAREEM FAHIM
istanbul — The city’s popular
mayor was surrounded by enthu-
siastic crowds, talking about his
hopes that the failing economy
would improve and his convic-
tion that brighter days for Turkey
were just around the bend. But
while the scene was familiar, this
was not Istanbul, and these were
not his constituents.
The mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu,
a leading member of Turkey’s
political opposition, was recently
on the other side of the country,
delivering what sounded like a
campaign speech in a stronghold
of President Recep Tayyip Erdo-
gan’s ruling alliance. It was one of
many places across a suffering
Turkey where the opposition
senses that Erdogan’s supporters
can be swayed.
Turkey’s presidential election
is not scheduled until 2023. But
an economic meltdown that is
growing worse by the day —
marked by rocketing inflation
that has left many unable to
afford basic goods, and a nation
watching aghast as the currency
collapses — has forced a reckon-
ing on Erdogan’s authoritarian
rule.
Economists say the crisis is
entirely the result of Erdogan’s
constant meddling with the cen-
tral bank and his unwavering
campaign to lower interest rates
because of his unorthodox view
that higher rates cause inflation.
Recent days have provided a
snapshot of the country’s turmoil.
On Thursday, for the fourth
month in a row, the central bank
cut interest rates — sending the
lira to a record low against the
dollar. By Friday, the lira had
sagged again, falling to
16.30 against the dollar despite a
central bank intervention to prop
up the currency.
Erdogan’s televised remarks
Sunday, in which he justified re-
ducing interest rates as part of a
Muslim duty to combat usury,
sent the currency tumbling again
early Monday. But the lira was
surging again Tuesday morning
after Erdogan later on Monday
unveiled a plan to protect savings
from the currency’s fluctuations.
Turkey’s opposition parties
have demanded early elections
and a return to a parliamentary
system that would reduce the
power of the presidency. They
have been buoyed by polls show-
ing flagging voter support for
Erdogan’s ruling Justice and De-
velopment Party, or AKP, as well
as for its ultranationalist alliance
partner. A coalition of opposition
parties, galvanized by the govern-
ment’s weakness, have organized
a series of meetings to sketch
common priorities in a post -
Erdogan era.
The obstacles to an opposition
electoral victory remain steep
and include ideological divisions
among the parties, personality
clashes among their leaders and
Erdogan’s continued ability to
retain a fiercely loyal base of
support among conservative
Muslims and others.
But none of that seems to have
dented the opposition’s growing
sense of confidence.
“We are face-to-face with a
ruling government that is near-
ing the end of its life. They are
making mistake after mistake,”
said Imamoglu, whose victory in
Istanbul’s 2019 mayoral race was
part of a wave of opposition victo-
ries that showed the vulnerability
of Erdogan’s once-dominant po-
litical machine.
In a recent interview, the may-
or said he had no plans to run for
president and that the decision
about who will face Erdogan
would be up to the leaders of
opposition parties.
But he said he was “interested
in the future of the country,” and
added: “We are discussing what
kind of country we would like to
construct after winning elec-
tions.”
During the 2019 elections, vot-
ers said they were worried about
the economic downturn, rising
inflation and the erosion of Tur-
key’s democracy, concerns that
for many Turks are now a matter
of survival. Savings have van-
ished as the lira has lost more
than 40 percent of its value this
year. The inflation rate is official-
ly just over 21 percent but is
believed to be much higher. In
interviews, business owners free-
ly admitted raising their prices as
much as 40 or 50 percent, saying
they had been left with no choice.
Erdogan, who persuaded vot-
ers to grant him sweeping new
powers in a referendum four
years ago, has tried to frame the
economic downturn as part of hisplan to make Turkey a hub for
cheap labor and goods like China,
but with better access to Western
markets. Such explanations have
not contained the public’s anger.
In an earlier stage of the crisis,
people were stung by Erdogan’s
often dismissive responses to citi-
zens who approached him for
help, in encounters widely shared
on social media. Now, tales of
hardship have taken center stage
and criticism of his government
has become increasingly bold,
with viral videos of long lines for
subsidized bread or a vegetable
seller dividing heads of cabbage
into affordable chunks.
“I just sold a quarter of a
cabbage to a customer. Half of a
half. And if there are still people
saying that the economy is good
then they should open their eyes
and look around,” the seller in the
video said.
In an outdoor market in Istan-
bul’s Fatih neighborhood, ven-
dors selling pickles, cheese and
cosmetic goods recently said cus-
tomers were walking away with
less.
For Tugce Gonul, an 18-year-
old dentistry student doing the
family shopping, a 20-lira note —
worth about $1.40 at the time —
bought only half the customary
block of cheese. Olives had more
than doubled in price. Her school
workbooks were unaffordable.
She no longer shopped in super-
markets. She said she dreamed of
leaving the country “to start over.”
In a measure of the despair,
recent polls showed that a united
opposition could beat Erdogan’s
alliance in an election, said Mesut
Yegen, a fellow at the Center for
Applied Turkey Studies at the
German Institute for National
and Security Affairs. But the
numbers only told part of the
story.
“We don’t know whether they
can form a coalition or find a
common candidate for presiden-
tial elections, or produce the im-pression for the public they can
build a government,” he said.
Differences among the biggest
parties — in particular, the right-
wing nationalist Good Party and a
leftist pro-Kurdish party — could
come to the fore. Then there is the
question of how Erdogan would
react to their challenge.
“He knows he can lose, and we
know he is not someone who can
easily cope with such a likeli-
hood,” said Yegen, adding that the
president could pursue a harsher
crackdown on the opposition or
work to exploit differences
among parties aligned against
him. “I think he will do both,” he
said.
Erdogan’s party challenged
Imamoglu’s first victory in the
Istanbul mayor’s race, citing ir-
regularities and provoking fears
about interference in future elec-
tions. Imamoglu, from the Re-
publican People’s party, or CHP,
handily defeated the AKP candi-
date in a do-over vote, propelling
the mayor to national promi-
nence.
He has stayed in the public eye
as Istanbul’s enthusiastic cheer-
leader and a critic of the central
government’s attempts to inter-
fere in the city’s local govern-
ment. His trips to European capi-
tals and political battlegrounds in
Turkey have further raised his
profile and stirred speculation
about his plans.
Imamoglu is among several
candidates who poll well against
Erdogan, along with Ankara May-
or Mansur Yavas and Meral
Aksener, the head of the Good
Party. But the chairman of the
CHP, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who is
widely credited for orchestrating
the opposition’s coalition-build-
ing effort, has publicly said the
two mayors should stand for sec-
ond terms, fueling speculation
that he is determined to run —
though analysts say he is a weaker
candidate.
Imamoglu said the chairman’s
desire for him to serve again was
“valuable” and that leading Istan-
bul was something “every city
mayor would want.”
“But decisions can change ac-
cording to circumstances,” he
added.
In the Fatih market, Ilhan Ay-
kut, who sells hair clips and other
Chinese-made personal products,
was faring better than most, hav-
ing stocked up on inventory sev-
eral months ago after predicting
the lira’s continued slide. But his
supplies will only last so long.
“We have never seen a more
volatile period,” he said, adding
that a “deep, intense wave” of
political change was coming.
“It’s going to be the election of
a century,” he said.
[email protected]Turkey’s economic woes rally o pposition leaders
KEREM UZEL/BLOOMBERG NEWS
TOP: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s photo hangs in a
currency exchange office in Istanbul on Monday. ABOVE: Istanbul
Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, seen in 2020, is from a o pposition party.