Mohamed al-Fayed, the former owner of Harrods, has been accused of rape by five women who used to work at the department store.
The billionaire, who passed away last year aged 94, is also accused by 20 other women of sexual assault.
The women who worked at the London department store from the late 1980s to 2000s said that the assaults were carried out at the company’s offices, in Fayed’s London apartment, or on trips abroad.
The father of Dodi Fayed – who was killed with Princess Diana in a car crash in 1997 – has been accused of prowling the sales floors to identify young women whom he found attractive and giving them a promotion to work in his office upstairs.
One woman, who says she was raped by Fayed in his Park Lane apartment, said: “I made it obvious that I didn’t want that to happen. I did not give consent. I just wanted it to be over.”
She said: “He raped me. Afterwards, you blame yourself. You’re there to do a job and this is your boss standing there in front of you in a dressing gown. And so even when you’re trying to get out of the situation, I’m trying not to offend him.”
Another said she was a teenager when she was raped. “Mohamed Al Fayed was a monster, a sexual predator with no moral compass whatsoever,” she said.
The woman said that all the Harrods staff “were all so scared. He actively cultivated fear”.
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The billionaire passed away last year aged 94
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The women who have come forward worked at the London department store from the late 1980s to 2000s
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One alleged victim said she fumed at Netflix’s The Crown’s portrayal of him as a pleasant man. She said: “That makes me angry, people shouldn’t remember him like that. It’s not how he was.”
In response to the allegations, Harrods’ current owners issued the following statement: “We are utterly appalled by the allegations of abuse perpetrated by Mohamed Al Fayed.
“These were the actions of an individual who was intent on abusing his power wherever he operated and we condemn them in the strongest terms.
“We also acknowledge that during this time as a business we failed our employees who were his victims and for this we sincerely apologise.
“The Harrods of today is a very different organisation to the one owned and controlled by Al Fayed between 1985 and 2010, it is one that seeks to put the welfare of our employees at the heart of everything we do.
“This is why, since new information came to light in 2023 about historic allegations of sexual abuse by Al Fayed, it has been our priority to settle claims in the quickest way possible, avoiding lengthy legal proceedings for the women involved. This process is still available for any current or former Harrods employees.
“While we cannot undo the past, we have been determined to do the right thing as an organisation, driven by the values we hold today, while ensuring that such behaviour can never be repeated in the future.”
He is the father of Dodi Fayed, who was killed with Princess Diana in a car crash in 1997
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The allegations came to light in a BBC documentary Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods, in which over 20 ex-employes accused the billionaire of sexual assault.
It found that Harrods had not only failed to intervene but helped cover up the abuse allegations.
“The abuse of women was something I was aware of while working on the shop floor,” says Tony Leeming, a Harrods department manager from 1994 to 2004.
“It wasn’t even a secret,” he said, though claims that he was unaware of more serious allegations of assault or rape.
“And I think if I knew, everyone knew. Anyone who says they didn’t is lying, I’m sorry,” Leeming adds.
Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods airs on BBC Two at 9pm tonight and is available on BBC iPlayer now. The accompanying new five-part season of the World of Secrets podcast, from the BBC World Service, is on BBC Sounds.
