NEW DELHI: British police on Friday announced the discovery of 40 new allegations against former Harrods department store owner Mohamed Al Fayed, following a BBC documentary in which victims accused the late businessman of sexual abuse and rape.
Egyptian billionaire Al Fayed passed away last year at the age of 94, after spending decades in the headlines as one of Britain’s most well-known businessmen.
According to the BBC documentary, Fayed had sexually abused female staff at Harrods in London and threatened them if they tried to complain. The documentary also said that he had failed to intervene and helped to cover up abuse allegations during his ownership.
Harrods, which Al Fayed sold in 2010, expressed that it is “appalled” by the allegations and emphasized that it is now a “very different organization.”
Last month, police urged anyone with allegations against Al Fayed to come forward and stated that they would seek to prosecute others in light of the accusations.
Stephen Clayman, head of specialist crime at London’s Metropolitan Police said, “Detectives have received numerous pieces of information, predominantly relating to the activities of Mohamed Al Fayed but some relating to the actions of others.”
The police stated that new allegations cover a range of offences including sexual assault and rape from 1979 to 2013 and relate to 40 victims.
These offenses do not include the 21 allegations that were imposed on Al Fayed before the documentary was made. Al Fayed always denied the accusations and no action was taken by the police even when the crimes were reported to the police between 2005 and 2023.
While much of the new information relates to his ownership of Harrods from 1985 to 2010, police are reaching out to other organizations associated with him to ensure that anyone impacted is identified.