Global articles on espionage, spying, bugs, and other interesting topics.

Wife sues husband for bugging phone because he thought she was having affair

*Upon private request, the personal details of those involved in this matter were removed in 2016*

2010

A jealous husband confessed to his wife that he had bugged her phone because he wrongly suspected her
of having an affair. A successful businessman, was sued by his now ex-wife and agreed to pay her a five-figure out-of-court settlement. But last week, on the day the payment was due, he filed for bankruptcy and now she may never see a penny of the money she is owed.

The couple met through relatives in 1997 and married two years later. But wedded bliss soon gave way to his jealousy and insecurity, according to his wife.

She said she became an ‘open book’ in an effort to make her husband, who was a director and share-holder at his family’s company, feel more secure.

However, in 2008 he sat her down at their home in West Midlands, and told her he had been recording all her phone calls for six months and played her a CD of conversations with family and friends.

‘I was completely shocked,’ she said.

‘I asked him why and he didn’t really have an answer for me. It just comes back to the fact that he was insecure. Maybe he was trying to get something on me having an affair, but there wasn’t one.’

The wife, then, 34, described that moment as ‘the straw that broke the camel’s back’ following years of being questioned about her every move.

The sales manager ended their marriage and sued her husband at the High Court for breach of confidence and misuse of private information. She claimed her ex-husband, then 36, violated her privacy and ruined her career after relaying the recordings to relatives and friends.

At the High Court, he denied tracking his wife, disputing that he had bugged her phone. He did, however, concede that he had told her that he had done so.

However, the two legal teams agreed the undisclosed settlement after the hearing in July. The wife said that she has not seen any money and now fears she never will.

Her solicitor said: ‘We believe that [the husband] disposed of substantial assets by transferring shares to other individuals before declaring himself bankrupt.

‘We will pursue further court action if necessary after considering the report from the Official Receiver.’