Britney Spears's lawyer says star will 'not be extorted' by her father

Britney Spears and her new lawyer say her father is trying to get about $2 million in payments before stepping down from the conservatorship that controls her life and money, a move they liken to extortion, in court documents filed on Tuesday.

The document filed by lawyer Mathew Rosengart says the coming scheduled accounting of the conservatorship, which Jamie Spears says he wants completed before he steps down, will mean significant payments for him.

“Britney Spears will not be extorted,” the filing says. “Mr Spears’s blatant attempt to barter suspension and removal in exchange for approximately $2 million in payments, on top of the millions already reaped from Ms Spears’s estate by Mr Spears and his associates, is a non-starter.”

A representative for Jamie Spears did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Associated Press.

The filing is a supplement to Rosengart’s July petition on Britney Spears’s behalf for the removal and suspension of her father, which will be addressed at a hearing on Wednesday, September 29.

In his response, Jamie Spears revealed that he had already been planning to step down from his daughter’s conservatorship, which he has controlled at least in part since it was established in 2008.

Britney Spears's newly appointed lawyer Mathew Rosengart leaves the Stanley Mosk Courthouse following a hearing concerning the pop singer's conservatorship. AP

But Jamie Spears offered no timetable for his departure, saying it would come only after several lingering issues, including the next accounting, are resolved.

He said he would fight any attempt to force him out, that there were no grounds for doing so, and that he has always only acted in his daughter’s best interest.

Rosengart’s latest filing contends that while there is plenty of misconduct to address, it is not yet the issue.

“The only question before the Court – which has, unfortunately, been lost for years – is whether Mr Spears’s prompt suspension and removal are in best the interests of Britney Spears,” the filing says, later adding that “the unequivocal answer is yes".

Since 2019, Jamie Spears has controlled only his daughter’s finances, after stepping down as the overseer of her personal life.

He was nevertheless the target of much of his daughter’s ire in a pair of speeches before the court in June and July, in which she called the conservatorship “abusive". Britney Spears said she had been required to use an intrauterine device for birth control, take medications against her will and was prevented from getting married, having another child or even riding in her boyfriend’s car unsupervised.

“This conservatorship is doing me way more harm than good,” Britney Spears, 39, said at the time. “I deserve to have a life.”

In an unrelated case, authorities in Ventura County are investigating an allegation of misdemeanour battery from a staff member at her home who said Britney Spears struck her.

Rosengart called the incident “a manufactured ‘he said she said’ regarding a cellphone, with no striking and obviously no injury whatsoever".

– Additional reporting by Associated Press

Green ambitions

Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
Biodiversity: Bat cave to be added and habitats designed for kingfishers and little grebes
Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water

Tips to keep your car cool

Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
Park in shaded or covered areas
Add tint to windows
Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Going grey? A stylist's advice

If you’re going to go grey, a great style, well-cared for hair (in a sleek, classy style, like a bob), and a young spirit and attitude go a long way, says Maria Dowling, founder of the Maria Dowling Salon in Dubai.
It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
“Get professional help – there’s no other way to go around it,” she says. “And don’t just let it grow out because that looks really bad. Put effort into it: properly condition, straighten, get regular trims, make sure it’s glossy.”

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

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Best Agent: Jorge Mendes

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Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker

Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo

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Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)

Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs

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On Women's Day

Dr Nawal Al-Hosany: Why more women should be on the frontlines of climate action

Shelina Janmohamed: Why shouldn't a spouse be compensated fairly for housework?

Samar Elmnhrawy: How companies in the Middle East can catch up on gender equality

Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'

Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company

Ruwais timeline

1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established

1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants

1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed

1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.

1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex

2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea

2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd

2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens

2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies

2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export

2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.

2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery

2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital

2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13

Source: The National

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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