Billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed targeted by rape complaints

He was a controversial billionaire, known for his willingness to bend the rules to do business. A year after his death, Mohamed Al-Fayed is now accused of dozens of sexual assaults and rapes, often by former employees of his Harrods store in London (United Kingdom) or the Ritz in Paris. The victims’ lawyerss alleged suspects say they have identified 37 women. One of them today describes a modus operandi that seemed well-established: “We were sent to see Al-Fayed because he had a task for us. It was always more of a friendly chat than a real job. But then these private meetings turned into a kiss strength”.

Most of the women involved were between 19 and 24 years old at the time of the events. Since the 1990s, several accusations had already been made in the press or to the police, in vain. Mohamed Al-Fayed liked to appear in front of the cameras with young women. As head of the Harrods department store, he always invited young actressess at the start of the sales. According to a BBC investigation, Harrods allegedly stifled cases by buying the silence of some accusers. Harrods and the Ritz Paris have today disassociated themselves from their former owner and say they condemn such behavior.