Former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed has been accused of rape and sexual assault by multiple women who worked at the luxury London store. In a new investigation, the BBC has spoken to more than 20 women who have alleged sexual assault and physical violence against female Harrods staff in the billionaire’s properties in London and Paris. Five, including a woman who was a teenager at the time, say they were raped by Al Fayed, who died in August 2023.
When he was alive, the Egyptian tycoon was accused of groping and sexually assaulting female employees, including a rape allegation which was investigated by police in 2015 but did not lead to any charges. The BBC’s Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods documentary, which airs on BBC Two this evening, and the World of Secrets podcast say the department store failed to intervene and helped cover up the women’s allegations. Harrods has said in response that “as a business we failed our employees who were his victims and for this we sincerely apologise.
” Allegations of rape in Mayfair apartment block Four women say Al Fayed raped them at a private apartment he owned on London’s Park Lane, with 13 other women saying they were sexually assaulted by him at the same location. Women told the BBC he would offer apartments in his private residence, in Mayfair’s 60 Park Lane, for female staff who had been working late. Rachel, which is not her real name, who was 19 at the time, stayed in one of Al Fayed’s apartments instead of taking.