A business tycoon has secured a legal gagging order against a social media influencer accused of a £1million blackmail attempt over explicit photos of him.
The man, who cannot be identified, is a devout muslim and widower who brought the latest stage of his bid to prevent the woman from revealing intimate images at the Royal Courts of Justice in London earlier this month.
Following that hearing, which was held behind closed doors, a High Court judge has now ordered that an injunction first made last month should be continued against the influencer and that she must hand over any explicit images of him to his lawyers.
Judge Aidan Eardley KC also ordered her to delete four social media posts which he found contained sensitive information about the man's health and sex life and look 'strongly like conduct that is calculated to cause (him) alarm and distress'.
The wealthy businessman alleges the influencer, who he had a fling with starting in 2022, shared intimate photos on a social media platform and took secret footage of him naked.
He also claimed she emailed images and false allegations about him to some of his relatives and business associates, and made various financial demands.
The woman, who represented herself at the private hearing, claims the pair were married in an Islamic ceremony in 2023 – which the businessman denies, saying that a photograph she provided as 'evidence' of this was taken at a business dinner in a Chinese restaurant.
He claimed that instances where he had sent messages to her sisters referring to himself as her husband were done at her request to 'avoid embarrassment' and he 'hesitantly' agreed to do so.
The man - who cannot be identified - is a devout muslim and widower who brought the latest stage of his bid to prevent the woman from revealing intimate images at the Royal Courts of Justice in London earlier this month
She also alleged the man knowingly infected her with an STD, which she claimed to have reported to police, and denied her communications amounted to blackmail.
However, in his ruling the judge said the businessman appears to have a 'strong case' that the woman created evidence of the marriage in order to get money from him.
Regarding the allegation of infecting her with an STD, the judge found there was 'no evidence to support this at all', and he also concluded it was likely she had engaged in blackmail.
Judge Eardley said: 'I have indulged the defendant by setting out her case on the alleged marriage at some length.
'Ultimately however, I do not see how it is likely to assist her, even if that case is accepted at trial.
'It would still not justify the publication of the highly sensitive and private matters that the claimant seeks to protect.
'Moreover, as the evidence presently stands, the claimant would appear to have a strong case that the 'marriage' was in fact a contrivance of the defendant's own making and that thereafter she busied herself with creating apparently credible evidence of it … in order to exert financial leverage over him in due course.
The gagging order injunction has been granted at the High Court in central London (pictured)
'In short, it is likely on present evidence that, in this and other respects, the defendant has engaged in blackmail, and that her article 10 rights (to freedom of expression) at trial will attract little or no weight.'
The judge refused to deal with applications by the woman for a declaration recognising the alleged marriage, compensation for personal injury and emotional distress and an order that the man be referred for criminal investigation.
He said it was 'inappropriate and impossible' to deal with these matters at the hearing and that she was free to contact police herself, as she claims to have done already.
The tycoon, a UK citizen who is chairman of a large group of firms trading globally and has homes in the UK and Asia, was previously granted an interim injunction against the woman.
The pair became involved romantically in 2022 and the businessman considered the relationship 'casual'.
He gave her money and presents during the relationship, but did not inform his family about it.
The tycoon alleges that the woman, who lives in London, began to make financial demands following an argument, and that he was 'distraught' after she posted a photo of him on her bed on social media despite him paying her £5,000.
He claims she took the post down after he paid a further £10,000, and she told him her account had been hacked and she was not responsible for the post.
She increased her demands to £1million on New Year's Eve last year, following this up with a blackmail threat over the phone a few days later, he alleges.
The businessman claims she reduced the amount she wanted but continued to demand payment and eventually copied in relatives and associates on an email, prompting him to bring the legal action against her.
The man was given a deadline of May 5 to serve his privacy claim against the woman.
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