Former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed a ‘monster’, say lawyers representing his alleged victims

(CNN) — The legal team representing alleged victims of former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed says the late billionaire was a “monster” whose crimes were “enabled” by the upmarket department store.

At least 37 women have accused Al-Fayed, who died in 2023 at the age of 94, of sexual abuse, lawyer Dean Armstrong told reporters in London on Friday. Armstrong said Al-Fayed was a “monster” who perpetrated a “massive web of abuse.”

Explaining the legal claim against Harrods, Armstrong said Al-Fayad was “enabled by a system” that permeated the store.

“This is and has been a systematic failure of corporate accountability, and that systematic failure is Harrods’ fault,” Armstrong said.

The legal team involved in the BBC investigation alleged that Harrods was aware of Al Fayed’s alleged crimes, and the store demonstrated an “abject failure of social responsibility and a failure to provide a safe system of work”, Armstrong said.

The team called the case “horrific,” comparing it to that of Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted pedophile who died in prison before he could face federal sex trafficking charges, and Jimmy Savile, a British television personality who was found to be a prolific sex offender after his death.

Attorney Bruce Drummond described the case as “one of the worst cases of corporate sexual exploitation that I, and perhaps the world, have ever seen.”

Harrods apologized to victims in a statement on Thursday and said it was “deeply shocked” by allegations of abuse by the former owner, the billionaire businessman who owned the department store between 1985 and 2010.

In the statement, Harrods said that “new information came to light” last year about historical allegations of sexual abuse committed by Al-Fayed.

Since then, it says, “our priority has been to resolve claims as quickly as possible, avoiding lengthy legal proceedings for the women involved.”

It is unclear whether the current owners are liable for the alleged crimes committed under Harrods’ previous ownership, and whether they have any responsibility to compensate the alleged victims and survivors of abuse.

During the press conference, Gloria Allred, a prominent women’s rights attorney who has represented women who said they were abused by Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein, described Al-Fayed as “the epitome of a serial sexual abuser.”

The allegations against Al-Fayed include “serial rape, attempted rape, sexual assault and sexual abuse of minors,” Allred said.

London’s Fulham Football Club, which owned Al-Fayed between 1997 and 2013, said in a statement on X on Friday: “We are deeply shocked and concerned to hear of the disturbing reports following yesterday’s documentary. We have genuine empathy for the women who have shared their experiences.”

It was also said that an investigation is underway to determine whether anyone within the club was affected.

The Egyptian-born Al-Fayed was a household name in the British business and celebrity world during his lifetime. Al Fayed’s son, Dodi Fayed, died in a high-speed car crash in Paris in 1997, along with Princess Diana.

CNN’s Catherine Nicholls contributed to this report.