Fairfax Media understands Channel Nine will pay a financial settlement, worth several hundreds of thousands of dollars. An exact figure could not be immediately confirmed. Nine's review will "ascertain what went wrong and why our systems, designed to protect staff, failed to do so in this case". Credit:AP News Corp reported on Thursday that Nine's settlement may have involved several million dollars in payment to Ali Elamine, the father of Ms Faulkner's children. Mr Elamine has insisted he did not receive financial compensation. He also said he would be open to allowing the children to travel to Australia to visit their mother but not in the immediate short term. He said he was relieved it was all over. Sally Faulkner and 60 Minutes reporter Tara Brown arrived at the Palace of Justice with their hands cuffed together in front of them. An Australian Embassy official had joined the proceedings.

A short time later the rest of the 60 Minutes crew also in handcuffs were brought up to Brown and Ms Faulkner in the waiting room. Tara Brown, left, and Sally Faulkner leave a women's prison in Beirut. Credit:Bilal Hussein Judge Rami Abdullah refused to comment when asked if he could rule out a financial settlement taking place to break the deadlock. Ms Faulkner and Mr Elamine and their children will meet with Judge Abdullah at 11am on Thursday (6pm AEST). Sally Faulkner with her two children Lahala, 6, and Noah, 4, in Beirut after the child recovery operation.

The Lebanese men involved on the child abduction plot and British national Adam Whittington, from the Child Abduction Recovery International agency, remain in custody. Mr Elamine reportedly told the judge he felt the 60 Minutes crew was just doing their job and he was happy to see the charges against them dropped. The lawyer for Mr Whittington, Joe Karam, told reporters "everyone will take advantage of the deal," when asked if Mr Whittington would also walk free. The breakthrough in the kidnapping case involving Brisbane mother Ms Faulkner came two weeks after the botched child abduction plot landed seven people in jail. Her lawyer, Ghassan Moughabghab, had told Fairfax Media all the signs were heading towards an agreement being reached when the matter resumed before investigative Judge Abdullah at Beirut's Palace of Justice.

The deal was struck after a closed-doors between lawyers representing all parties and the judge. A lawyer acting for Mohamed Hamze, the owner of the safe house where Ms Faulkner and her children were taken after the abduction, had earlier said it was "100 per cent" part of the deal that Mr Elamine would drop charges against his estranged wife and that this would include the 60 Minutes crew. Lawyer Sahar Mohsen said it was less certain whether this would extend to child recovery agent Mr Whittington. Her client also carried out the pre-runs for Mr Whittington in the days before the abduction. But he will argue that he thought he was aiding a mother reuniting with her children and not a kidnapping. Follow Latika Bourke on Facebook