Lawyers say 'monster' late Harrods owner abused dozens of women

Lawyers say 'monster' late Harrods owner abused dozens of women

Billionaire businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed died last year

Dozens of women from across the world have accused late Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed of sexual assault, lawyers said Friday, likening the allegations to those against fallen figures such as Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

At least 37 women from Australia, Canada, Italy, Malaysia, Romania and the United States have so far come forward to allege abuse by the Egyptian billionaire, who died last year aged 94.

One was just 16 when she was allegedly assaulted.

More women are expected to contact lawyers as a result of publicity surrounding a BBC investigation into the claims, including five who said they were raped.

Lawyers representing some of the women said they were victims of "systematic abuse" over 25 years "within the knowledge of Harrods", which Al-Fayed sold in 2010. 

The new owners of the upmarket London department store said they were "utterly appalled" by the allegations.

But lawyer Dean Armstrong said there had been an "abject failure of corporate responsibility and a failure to provide a safe system at work".

Fayed is accused of having sexually assaulted, raped and attempted to rape multiple young women -- including minors -- hired as his secretaries and personal assistants at the west London store.

"He was a monster enabled by the system," Armstrong told a news conference.

- Earlier allegations -

Fayed's accusers say the assaults took place in his apartments in London and at his properties in Paris, including the Ritz hotel, which he also owned.

Armstrong said the current claims were focused on Harrods because of "collective corporate responsibility" and "vicarious liability", the evidence showing that "clearly there was a pattern beyond peradventure (doubt)".

Vicarious liability is where the corporation is held responsible for the actions of employees, and Harrods has accepted this principle in settling some allegations about Fayed that came to light last year. 

Since the BBC investigation however, it has received new enquiries.

Fayed had previously been accused of sexually assaulting and groping multiple women but a 2015 police investigation into a rape allegation did not lead to any charges.

London's Metropolitan police said it was "aware" of allegations of sexual offences reported to the force "over a number of years" in relation to Fayed.

"Each one was investigated and, where appropriate, advice from the Crown Prosecution Service was sought. No charges resulted from these investigations," the Met said in a statement.

However, the police said that it would "investigate accordingly" if further information was made available. It had made progress in "improving the quality" of investigations into sexual offences in recent years, it added.

- 'Highly manipulative' -

The latest allegations include a repeated pattern of women who underwent a selection process for positions close to the chairman.

Once selected, they were subjected to an "invasive" gynaecological examination, the results of which were "rarely" shared with the women, but were passed to Fayed, according to lawyer Maria Mulla.

One of the survivors, Natacha, said she was a 19-year-old employee when she was "subjected to an unnecessary and intrusive medical examination" and tested for sexually transmitted diseases.

"I was subjected to AIDS and STD testing without consent, and now believe in hindsight, I was checked for my purity," she added.

Natacha, who did not give her last name, called Fayed a "highly manipulative" employer whose abuse included "forced kisses" and instances of sexual assault.

Women who tried to complain about their abuse were threatened by security heads, demoted and targeted by false allegations until they had "no choice" but to leave Harrods.

Many of the women shared their story, according to the BBC, after disagreeing with Fayed's portrayal in the Netflix drama "The Crown".

The series dramatises his friendship with Princess Diana, who died in a car crash with Fayed's son Dodi in 1997.

- Global claim -

The claims have yet to be issued, lawyers said, but they would welcome it if Harrods decided to "compensate the women financially", but that the case was about "much more" than money.

Lawyer Bruce Drummond described the "vast" scope of the allegations. One of three Canadian accusers said she was just 16 when she was allegedly assaulted. Six of the plaintiffs are Americans. 

Some of the alleged assaults took place overseas, including in Saint Tropez and Abu Dhabi. Some of the women were employed by the Ritz in Paris, said Mulla.

The Ritz said in a statement it "strongly condemns any form of behaviour that does not align with the values of the establishment".

Fayed sold Harrods to the investment arm of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund for a reported £1.5 billion ($2.2 billion).

He also owned Fulham Football Club, where the lawyers were also "aware" of claims of sexual abuse.

"Underneath the glitz and glamour", there was "a toxic, unsafe and abusive environment", said Gloria Allred, an American lawyer on the case who has represented victims of convicted sex offenders like Jeffrey Epstein.

Fayed, she said, was the "epitome of a serial sexual abuser".

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