Lawyers representing the alleged victims of late Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed have announced a lawsuit against the luxury department store, claiming the allegations combine “some of the most horrific elements of the cases involving Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein, and Harvey Weinstein.”
A press conference held on Friday in London heard from the legal team representing dozens of female former employees who have made accusations against the Egyptian billionaire, who died last year at the age of 94.
The lawyers in the civil case are seeking damages on behalf of the alleged victims, claiming that Harrods not only failed to protect its employees, but “enabled” and covered up the alleged crimes committed by its former owner.
The legal team and some of the alleged victims were this week featured in a BBC documentary, “Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods,” with five women claiming to have been raped by the serial entrepreneur.
More than 20 female former employees spoke to the broadcaster as part of its investigation, coming forward with allegations of sexual assault and physical violence at properties in London, Paris, St. Tropez, and Abu Dhabi.
Al Fayed was previously accused of sexual assault by women while he was still alive, but police dropped the case against him in 2015.
Barrister Dean Armstrong, KC told the press conference he had “never seen a case as horrific as this.”
“This case combines some of the most horrific elements of the cases involving Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein, and Harvey Weinstein,” he said.
“Savile because in this case, as in that, the institution, we say, knew about the behaviour.
“Epstein because in that case, as in this, there was a procurement system in place to source the women and girls—as you know there are some very young victims.
“And Weinstein, because it was a person at the very top of the organisation who was abusing his power.
“We will say plainly, Mohammed Al Fayed was a monster. But he was a monster enabled by a system.”
Claiming that Harrods has “full culpability” for damages claimed by the alleged victims, Armstrong told journalists that the legal team has been instructed by 37 of Al Fayed’s accusers and is “in the process of being retained by many more.”
One alleged victim, Natacha, who worked at the Knightsbridge store when she was 19, also addressed the press conference, saying she was “no longer afraid” to speak out.
Maria Mulla, one of the barristers representing the women, said that some of the alleged victims claimed to have been threatened, demoted, or fired when they attempted to report Al Fayed.
U.S. lawyer Gloria Allred, who has represented women in high profile abuse cases including victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein, told the conference that Harrods was a “toxic, unsafe, and abusive environment” under the ownership of Al Fayed, whose business interests were centred on London since the mid 1960s.
Allred said the various allegations against the late billionaire include serial rape, attempted rape, sexual battery, and sexual abuse of minors.
“They involved doctors administering invasive gynaecological exams as a condition of employment for some of the employees who were targeted by Mohammed Al Fayed for sexual abuse,” she said.
“The allegations also include the unauthorised disclosure to Mohamed Al Fayed of the examination results of employees he targeted for sexual abuse.”
“We say something was rotten at the core of Harrods,” she said, adding that the BBC documentary alleged that during Al Fayed’s ownership, Harrods not only failed to intervene, but helped cover up abuse allegations.
Barrister Bruce Drummond said that Harrods “must accept responsibility for the damage these women have suffered.”
He said: “This is one of the worst cases of corporate sexual exploitation that certainly I, and perhaps the world has ever seen.
“It was absolutely horrific and I can’t stress that word enough.”
The lawyers said they would not be pursuing a class action and will instead focus on individual claims against Harrods on behalf of each of their clients.
The allegations against Al Fayed swirled for many years during his lifetime. As far back as December 1997, the ITV current affairs programme “The Big Story” broadcast testimonies from a number of former Harrods employees who spoke of how the businessman routinely harassed women.
Al Fayed was interviewed under caution by the Metropolitan Police after an allegation of sexual assault against a 15-year-old schoolgirl in October 2008, but the case was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service when they decided there was no realistic chance of conviction owing to conflicting statements.
A December 2017 episode of Channel 4’s “Dispatches” programme alleged that Al Fayed sexually harassed three female Harrods employees and attempted to “groom” them, with the youngest aged just 17 at the time. Cheska Hill-Wood waived her right to anonymity to be interviewed for the programme, which alleged the billionaire targeted young women working for him over a 13-year period.
When he died last August, Al Fayed’s wealth was estimated by Forbes to be $2 billion.
In 2010, he sold the luxury department store to Qatar Holding—a subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority, which is the sovereign wealth fund of the state of Qatar—for £1.5 billion.
In July 2023, Harrods began settling claims out of court with women who came forward with allegations of sexual abuse at the hands of Al Fayed, with non-disclosure agreements forming part of the settlements.
In a statement, Harrods said: “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 statement continued: “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.”
The Egyptian’s entrepreneurial career began on the streets of Alexandria, where legend has it he peddled fizzy drinks to passers-by for pennies.
His fortunes soared following his brief marriage to Samira—the sister of a wealthy Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi—from 1954 to 1956, with whom he had his eldest son, Dodi Fayed.
Al Fayed was already a well-known figure in the UK when his son began his ill-fated relationship with Diana, Princess of Wales, with the couple killed in a car crash in 1997 after leaving the Ritz Hotel in Paris, which the Egyptian had owned since 1979.
Since February 1998, Al Fayed maintained that the crash was a result of a conspiracy, and later contended that it was orchestrated by MI6 on the instructions of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His claims were dismissed by a French judicial investigation.
He unsuccessfully applied for British citizenship twice, in 1994 and 1999.
Fulham FC said it is launching an investigation into whether Al Fayed abused employees during his time as the club’s owner.
