MOHAMED Al Fayed’s alleged abuse of women “combined the worst of Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein”, a lawyer has said.
The Egyptian billionaire, who died last year, is facing accusations he raped and sexually assaulted more than 20 female employees.
Al Fayed is accused of raping and sexually assaulting female employees[/caption]
Dean Armstrong KC speaking at a press conference today[/caption]
Five women say they were raped by the former Harrods boss[/caption]
Savile used his position at the BBC and his charity work to sexually abuse victims[/caption]
Jeffrey Epstein was facing sex offence allegations when he died in prison[/caption]
Disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein was jailed for 23 years in February 2020[/caption]
But there are fears the total number of victims could exceed more than 100 as Dean Armstrong KC, representing the alleged victims, encouraged other potential victims to come forward today.
Speaking at a press conference, the lawyer described the former Harrods chairman as a “monster”.
He said: “This case combines some of the most horrific elements of the cases involving Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein.
“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 – there are some very young victims in this – for abuse.
“And Weinstein because it was a person at the very top of the organisation who was abusing his power.
“We will say it plainly, Mohamed Al Fayed was a monster.”
The women, who worked at Harrods from the late 1980s to 2000s, claim assaults were carried out at the company’s offices, in Fayed’s London apartment, or on foreign trips often in Paris at the Ritz hotel.
An investigation by the BBC also claims he would regularly tour the department store’s sales floors to identify young female assistants.
Mr Drummond KC added: “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.”
He also accused Harrods of “having knowledge” of the abuse as early as 1995.
The new documentary – called Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods – hears claims that the store not only failed to intervene but also helped cover up allegations against Al Fayed.
The lawyer continued: “He was a monster enabled by a system. A system that pervaded Harrods.
“Those of you that have seen the documentary last night will know and may well remember very clearly the words of the manager who said the following: ‘Anyone who tells you they didn’t know what was going on is lying.’
“We welcome as a first step the admission at the end of the programme from Harrods that they had failed these women. However, they also claim they didn’t know about Al Fayed’s behaviour until 2023.
“We will say it plainly, that is simply not true. The BBC documentary as well as all the other material makes that clear.
“This was systematic abuse well before that time and within the knowledge of Harrods well before that time.”
One of Al Fayed’s alleged victims named Gemma, who worked for him as a personal assistant between 2007 and 2009, told of how his behaviour would turn more scary during work trips abroad.
She claims he raped her at Villa Windsor in Paris’s Bois de Boulogne, a former home of post-abdication King Edward VIII and his wife Wallis Simpson.
Gemma described waking up to find him attempting to get into bed with her, adding: “I told him, ‘No, I don’t want you to’.
“And he proceeded to just keep trying to get in the bed, at which point he was kind of on top of me and [I] really couldn’t move anywhere.
Who was Mohamed Al Fayed?
MOHAMED AL FAYED was best known as the owner of luxury department store Harrods and father of Princess Diana’s boyfriend Dodi Al-Fayed.
The billionaire died in August 2023 at the age of 94, almost 26 years to the day after the passing of his son.
Heini Wathen married Mohamed Al-Fayed in 1985 and the couple went on to have four children together; Jasmine, Karim, Camilla and Omar.
Heini and Mohamed’s romance began after they were introduced by Mohamed’s son Dodi.
The couple are portrayed by Hanna Alström and Salim Daw in the sixth and final season of Netflix‘s The Crown.
Before marrying Heini, Mohamed had been wed once before.
In 1954 he tied the knot with Saudi Arabian author Samira Khashoggi.
The pair split after two years but welcomed son Dodi together in 1955.
Dodi is Samira and Mohamed’s only child, but Mohamed went on to have four more kids with his second wife.
Prior to his death, Mohamed lived in a house near Oxted with his wife Heini.
The family estate in Surrey, named Barrow Green Court, is where both Mohamed and his son Dodi are buried.
His eldest son – Dodi – was killed alongside Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997.
“I was kind of face down on the bed and he just pressed himself on me.”
Harrods said in a statement to the BBC: “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.
“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.
“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.”
