2024-09-21 19:05:26
The BBC has made public a series of allegations of abuse against Mohamed Al-Fayed. Now another woman has come forward and called him a “scumbag”.
Mohamed Al-Fayed died a year ago at the age of 94. Now more and more details about his life are coming to light. Numerous women have accused the businessman of abuse in revelations by the British broadcaster BBC. A documentary, in which more than 20 women were affected, was published on Thursday. Then on Friday the latest development: Another woman has made allegations and said that Mohamed Al-Fayed attacked her in his London apartment.
The explosive thing: According to the woman, the police were close to arresting the businessman on the basis of her accusations. But then Al-Fayed died in August 2023. The alleged victim is not named, but is said to have been employed by Al-Fayed at the age of 21, when he was in his late 70s. The following happened at a meeting: “When I got up to leave, he put his hands on my chest and said some pretty disgusting things. I was completely shocked.” In this context, she describes Al-Fayed as a “scumbag,” among other things.
The Egyptian businessman was the former owner of the luxury London department store Harrods and the football club Fulham FC – and the father of Dodi Al-Fayed. Fans of the British royal family in particular will be familiar with his son’s name. Dodi Al-Fayed died in a car accident in 1997. With him in the car: Princess Diana. The then 42-year-old businessman and the ex-wife of King Charles III – then still Prince Charles – were a couple. They are said to have met through Mohamed Al-Fayed.
As the British newspaper “Daily Mail” reported, Mohamed Al-Fayed met Charles and Diana, who separated in 1992, at a polo match in the 1980s. This is how Dodi and Diana came into contact. Not much was known about the relationship between the two. In 1997, they were spotted together on holiday in St. Tropez, spreading the first rumors of a romance.
One year after Mohamed Al-Fayed’s death, the BBC is now making more and more allegations of abuse public. Numerous women are accusing Mohamed Al-Fayed of rape, physical violence and sexual assault. As the broadcaster reported on Thursday, BBC journalists spoke to more than 20 women for a documentary and podcast.
According to the documentary “Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods,” five former employees say they were raped by the department store manager, five others report attempted rape, and 13 others say they were sexually harassed by their boss. According to the report, Mohamed Al-Fayed regularly called female employees to his London apartment in the evenings to make them work overtime – and then became aggressive.
There had already been allegations in the past that Mohamed Al-Fayed had groped and sexually abused women. According to the BBC, an investigation into alleged rape was closed in 2015. A former Harrods manager told the BBC that the boss’s sexual assaults were common knowledge in the company and that there were frequent allusions or jokes about them.
The current owners of the luxury department store Harrods said they were “deeply shocked” by the allegations of abuse. “As a company, we have failed our employees who were his victims and for that we sincerely apologise.” In July last year, Harrods reached its first out-of-court settlements with women who said they had been sexually abused by Mohamed Al-Fayed between the late 1980s and the late 2000s.