The high-end London department store, Harrods, said Thursday that it is “utterly appalled” by allegations of abuse – including rape – perpetrated by its former owner, the late billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed. More than 20 female ex-Harrods employees have accused Al Fayed, who died last year at age 94, of sexually assaulting them, according to an in-depth BBC investigation. One said she was assaulted when she was 15 and Al Fayed was 79.
Harrods acknowledged that Al Fayed was “intent on abusing his power wherever he operated.” Download the CTV News App for breaking news alerts and video on all the top stories The alleged assaults are said to have taken place at a wide range of locations, including Al Fayed’s luxury apartment building in London, the Ritz hotel in Paris, which Al Fayed owned, and a Parisian villa that Al Fayed rented called Villa Windsor, known for being the main residence of the Duke of Windsor, a former British king, and his wife, for decades. Al Fayed’s son, Dodi Fayed, died in 1997 along with Princess Diana in a high-speed car crash in Paris.
Numerous women interviewed in the BBC investigation described instances of being invited to an apartment block owned by Al Fayed after finishing late shifts at Harrods. They said they would be invited there under the pretense of safety, being allocated their own apartment to stay in to avoid traveling home late at night. Once there, the women said they would be called up to Al Fayed’s own apartment, where .