LONDON – The late Egyptian billionaire Mohamed al-Fayed -father of Dodi, the former partner of British Princess Diana, and who was the owner of the iconic British department stores Harrods– was accused of rape and sexual assault by former employees, a statement revealed Thursday BBC investigation.
The accusations were revealed in a documentary broadcast by the British network BBC, who conducted research on the tycoon, who died last year at the age of 94.
The network spoke with 20 women have accused the former owner of Harrods of assault and rape in London, Paris, Saint Tropez and Abu Dhabi. The surname of any of them will not be published, although some did agree to speak on camera.
Mohamed Al-Fayed attends the show “Chanel Collection des Metiers d’Art 2016/17: Paris Cosmopolite” on December 6, 2016 in Paris, France – Credits: @Pascal Le Segretain
Of those interviewed, Five accused him of rape, According to the documentary titled Al Fayed: A Harrods Predator which will be broadcast in full this Thursday night, along with a podcast.
“I made it very clear to him that I didn’t want anything to happen. I didn’t give him my consent. In the end, I just wanted it all to be over soon.“, says one of the women whom the businessman took to his luxurious London apartment on Park Lane.
Another of the complainants was barely a teenager when she was also raped by Al Fayed at his residence in the Mayfair neighborhood. “He was a monster, a sexual predator who lacked moral scruples,” he said, adding that all the Harrods staff were his “toys”.
Al Fayed has previously been accused of sexual assault by several women and Police opened an investigation in 2015, but the businessman was never charged. Other media also exposed the allegations, such as Vanity Fair in 1995, ITV in 1997 and Channel 4 in 2017.
The BBC accuses Harrods of failing to intervene and of trying to cover up the allegations.
Al Fayed sold the iconic London luxury store in 2010 to the investment arm of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund for 1.5 billion pounds ($2.2 billion).
The current owners declared themselves “shocked” by the accusations and offered an apology. “As a company, We failed our employees who were victims and we offer our most sincere apologies,” they said.
According to the research, the way of working of the businessman even involved sending the female employees he selected to undergo a medical examination that included gynecological tests to ensure that they were in good sexual health.
Princess Diana, Princess of Wales, with Mohamed Al Fayed at Harrods for a breakfast reception, 15 October 1996 – Credits: @Mirrorpix
“There was no reason for anyone to have to know what my sexual health was, unless you were already planning to sleep with me. Right now, thinking about it, It gives me chills“said Katherine, who worked as Al Fayed’s executive assistant in 2005.
The businessman used to take long walks around all the floors of Harrods to Personally select the employees who would later be promoted in position, to transfer them to the executive offices.
According to testimonies, the sexual assaults occurred in various places: in the offices of Harrods, in his London apartment, in his Villa Windsor, the country residence he had in Paris, in the Ritz Hotel in that city or in Saint Tropez.
Mohamed Al Fayed. Photo: William Conran/PA Wire/dpa – Credit: @William Conran
“I couldn’t escape. I didn’t have a family home to return to and I had to pay rent for my apartment every month. I knew that I had no choice but to go through it. “Even though I didn’t want to, and ever since then I’ve been carrying this confusion around in my head,” said Sophia, one of the women who participated in the documentary.
Over time, many employees began to reveal everything they knew to investigators at the British network.
“The abuse of women sometimes took place on the sales floors of department stores. It wasn’t even a secret. If I knew, everyone knew. And whoever says they didn’t know, I’m sorry, they’re lying,” said Tony Leeming, who was a department head at Harrods from 1994 to 2004.
Mohamed Al Fayed during the opening of Harrods 102 at Harrods 102 in London, UK – Credits: @Tomos Brangwyn
According to the BBC, Fayed began his career in Alexandria, Egypt, where he sold soft drinks on the street. Then He married the sister of a Saudi billionaire arms dealer which helped him forge new connections and build a business empire. Then He moved to the UK in 1974 and was already a well-known public figure when he took over Harrods in 1985.
Al Fayed, whose son Dodi died in a car crash alongside his then-partner Lady Di in 1997, became known to a new generation when his character was cast in recent seasons of The Crown, where He is shown as a manipulative businessman who was behind his son’s relationship with one of the most beloved people in British society.
AFP Agency and El País
