The allegations were laid out in a BBC documentary, titled ‘Al-Fayed: Predator at Harrods’.
Former Harrods boss Mohamed Al-Fayed, whose son Emad El-Din “Dodi” Mohamed Fayed was killed in a 1997 Paris car crash alongside Princess Diana, has been accused of multiple rapes. According to The BBC, five women have claimed that they were raped by the billionaire, who died last year aged 94, when they worked at the luxury London department store Harrods, which Al-Fayed owned from 1985 to 2010. The outlet revealed that it had heard testimonies from more than 20 former female staff members who claim the billionaire businessman sexually assaulted them, with the incidents allegedly taking place in London, St. Tropez, Abu Dhabi and Paris.
The allegations were laid out in a BBC documentary, titled ‘Al-Fayed: Predator at Harrods’. The documentary revealed that during Fayed’s ownership, Harrods not only failed to intervene but helped cover up abuse allegations.
In a statement, Harrods’ current owners said they were “utterly appalled” by the allegations and that his victims had been failed – for which the store apologised.
“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,” the statement read. “We also acknowledge that during this time as a business, we failed our employees who were his victims and for this we sincerely apologise,” it added.
According to The BBC, one woman has alleged that the billionaire raped her at his London apartment. “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 told the outlet.
Another woman claimed that she was raped at the apartment in Mayfair when she was a teenager. “We were all scared. He actively cultivated fear,” she said. “If he said ‘jump’ employees would ask ‘how high’.”
A woman named Sophia, who worked as Fayed’s personal assistant from 1988 to 1991, says the billionaire tried to rape her more than once. “I couldn’t leave. I didn’t have a [family] home to go back to, I had to pay rent,” she said. “I knew I had to go through this and I didn’t want to. It was horrible and my head was scrambled,” she added.
Another of his personal assistants, Gemma, who worked for Fayed from 2007 to 2009, claimed he raped her at Villa Windsor in Paris, a former home of King Edward VIII and his wife Wallis Simpson. She said that as part of the agreement for her leaving the job, she had to shred all evidence and sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) in return for a sum of money. Ms Gemma told the outlet that a shredding truck came to her lawyer’s office and a member of HR from Harrods was present.
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Tony Leeming, a former Harrods department manager of 10 years, said that he was aware of the abuse of women on the shop floor, but claimed he did not know about the allegations of assault or rape. Mr Leeming’s testimony is backed by former members of Fayed’s security team.
“We were aware that he had this very strong interest in young girls,” said Eamon Coyle, who joined Harrods in 1979 as a store detective, then became deputy director of security from 1989-95.
Many women told the BBC that when they began working directly for Fayed they underwent medicals – including invasive sexual health tests carried out by doctors. The outlet also reported that before his death, the billionaire faced a number of sexual assault claims in 1997, 2008 and 2017.
Of the women the outlet spoke to for the investigation, a total of 14 have brought civil claims against Harrods for damages. The department store’s current owners started settling these in July 2023, according to the outlet.
Notably, Fayed, born in Egypt, moved to the United Kingdom in 1974 and was already a well-known public figure when he took over Harrods in 1985. His son Dodi was killed in a car crash alongside Princess Diana in 1997. He has become known to a new generation through the two most recent Netflix series of ‘The Crown’.
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