The late billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed, the longtime owner of London’s luxury department store Harrods whose son died in a car crash with Princess Diana, is being described by accusers as a “monster” and a “predator” following allegations that he raped several women who worked for him at the store in London.
“We have survivors from all over the world,” said lawyer Bruce Drummond at a news conference Friday in London, announcing that 37 women, including six Americans, had come forward to claim assaults including rape. Among the group are five women who allege they were raped by the Egyptian billionaire, who died in August 2023 at the age of 94.
The allegations involve “cover ups, threats and a quarter century of sexual abuse” that lawyers said were experienced by the women, “some as young as 15 and 16.”
“Many women dreamed of working there [Harrods] to be associated with this prestigious corporation,” said prominent American women’s rights advocate and attorney Gloria Allred, who is also representing the women behind the accusations. She said they instead discovered that beneath the “glitz and glamour was a toxic, unsafe, and abusive environment.”
U.K. news outlets report police investigated allegations of harassment and assault from several women against Al Fayed during his lifetime, but he was never charged. Al Fayed denied those accusations.
“He knew where my family lived. I felt scared and sick.”
The lawyers said most of the victims were left feeling powerless, overwhelmed with fear of facing retaliation.
“Their terror was reinforced by threats, surveillance, and phone tapping,” claimed Allred at the news conference in London, adding that one of Al Fayed’s alleged victims, identified as Natacha, said he’d targeted the most vulnerable members of his staff — “those of us who needed to pay the rent and some of us who didn’t have parents to protect them.”
Natacha was at the news conference in person and, along with some of the other women, has at least partially waived her right to anonymity. Her full name was not given. She said she’d been accompanied on one occasion by one of Al Fayed’s security guards to his private sitting room, where the door was subsequently locked behind her.
“There was sex toys on view,” she said. “Mohammad Al Fayed, the person I worked for, pushed himself onto me.”
It was alleged that Al Fayed’s abusive behavior was not a secret and was widely known among employees at Harrods.
The department store — which Al Fayed sold in 2010 — was accused on Friday of having enabled its former boss in a “vast web of abuse,” as there was a “procurement system in place to source the women and girls.”
That allegedly included “doctors administering invasive gynecological exams as a condition of employment for some of the employees who were targeted by Mohamed Al-Fayed for sexual abuse by him.”
Harrods’ current owners, the Qatari state-owned state of Qatar Investment Authority, told CBS News’ partner network BBC News that it was “utterly appalled” by the allegations against Al Fayed. The BBC said the company acknowledged that the women had been failed by the business, for which it sincerely apologized.
“This is and was a systematic failure of corporate responsibility,” said lawyer Dean Armstrong, who is also representing the women.
Armstrong said the “case combines some of the most horrific elements of the cases involving Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein, and Harvey Weinstein.” Al Fayed “was a monster enabled by the system,” he said.
News
Rebel Princess Diana Refused to Wear Pink and ‘Ripped the Corset’ from Met Gala Dress, John Galliano Says
The designer, who dressed the late Princess of Wales for her one and only Met appearance, spoke about her Dior look in the new series ‘In Vogue:…
Royal Brothers’ Unwavering Mission: Harry and William’s Deep Love for Diana’s Charity Revealed!
Earl Spencer, Princess Diana’s brother, spoke exclusively to ITV News Royal Editor Chris Ship at his family’s estate in Northamptonshire Anyone within earshot of Princess Diana’s…
Kate and William’s surprising kind last-minute gesture during Harry, Meghan’s final engagement as senior royals revealed
Kate Middleton and Prince Willaim made a kind gesture during Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s final engagement as senior members of the royal family. Kate Middleton and Prince…
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s latest statement a ‘big danger issue’ for the Sussexes and Their Future
The pair have been warned against wading into politics ahead of the upcoming US election Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s latest statement is a “big danger issues” for the…
Harry and Meghan blasted over statement urging people to register to vote: ‘They are essentially manipulating votes for…’
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle recently issued a statement asking people to register to be able to vote in the upcoming US presidential election. Prince Harry and…
How Míriel Survives the Impossible Númenor’s Sea Trial In The Rings Of Power Season 2
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is storming into season 2, showing Barrow-wights, Ents, and a terrifying sea monster that confronts Míriel in her trial…
End of content
No more pages to load