Australian National Review – Lawsuit alleges Harrods ‘enabled’ Mohamed Al Fayed to abuse

Lawyers representing alleged victims of late Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed have announced a lawsuit against the luxury department store, claiming the allegations combine “some of the most appalling elements of the Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein cases”.

A press conference was held in London on Friday, attended by the legal team representing dozens of former female employees who have made allegations against the Egyptian billionaire, who died last year at the age of 94.

The lawyers in the civil case are seeking damages on behalf of the alleged victims. They allege that Harrods not only failed to protect its employees, but also ‘enabled’ and covered up the alleged crimes of its former owner.

The legal team and some of the alleged victims featured in a BBC documentary this week, “Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods,” in which five women allege they were raped by the serial entrepreneur.

More than 20 former female employees spoke to the broadcaster as part of the investigation and came forward with allegations of sexual abuse and physical violence at properties in London, Paris, St Tropez and Abu Dhabi.

Al Fayed was previously accused of sexually abusing women while he was alive, but police dropped the case against him in 2015.

Kansas City attorney Dean Armstrong told the news conference that he had “never seen a case as horrific as this.”

“This case combines some of the most appalling elements of the Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein cases,” he said.

“Savile because in this case, as in that case, the institution, we say, was aware of the behavior.

“Epstein, because in that case, as in this case, there was a system of procurement to find the women and girls. As you know, there are a number of very young victims.

“And Weinstein, because it was a person at the top of the organization who abused his power.

“We will say frankly, Mohammed Al Fayed was a monster. But he was a monster who was enabled by a system.”

Armstrong claimed that Harrods is “fully responsible” for the damages claimed by the alleged victims and told reporters that its legal team has been instructed by 37 of Al Fayed’s accusers and is “in the process of being instructed by many more.”

An alleged victim, Natacha, who worked at the Knightsbridge store when she was 19, also spoke at the press conference, saying she was “no longer afraid” to speak out.

Maria Mulla, one of the lawyers representing the women, said some of the alleged victims claimed they were threatened, demoted or fired when they tried to report Al Fayed.

US lawyer Gloria Allred, who has represented women in high-profile abuse cases including victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein, told the conference that Harrods had become a “toxic, unsafe and abusive environment” under the ownership of Al Fayed, whose business interests had been concentrated in London since the mid-1960s.

Allred said the various allegations against the late billionaire include serial rape, attempted rape, sexual assault and sexual abuse of minors.

“These were doctors who performed invasive gynecological examinations as a condition of employment for a number of employees who were targeted for sexual abuse by Mohammed Al Fayed,” she said.

“The allegations also include the improper disclosure to Mohamed Al Fayed of the results of investigations into employees he targeted for sexual abuse.”

“We are saying there was something rotten at the core of Harrods,” she said, adding that the BBC documentary alleged that during Al Fayed’s ownership, Harrods not only failed to intervene but also helped cover up allegations of abuse.

Lawyer Bruce Drummond said Harrods “must accept responsibility for the harm these women have suffered.”

He said: “This is one of the worst cases of corporate sexual exploitation that I, and perhaps the world, have ever seen.

“It was absolutely horrific and I can’t stress that word enough.”

The lawyers said they would not bring a class action lawsuit and would instead focus on individual claims against Harrods on behalf of each of their clients.

The allegations against Al Fayed continued to circulate for many years throughout his life. As early as December 1997, ITV’s current affairs programme, “The Big Story”, aired testimonies from a number of former Harrods employees who told how the businessman routinely harassed women.

Al Fayed was questioned under surveillance by the Metropolitan Police following an allegation of sexual abuse against a 15-year-old schoolgirl in October 2008. However, the case was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service when they ruled there was no realistic prospect of a conviction due to conflicting statements.

In a December 2017 episode of the Channel 4 programme Dispatches, it was alleged that Al Fayed had sexually harassed and attempted to “groom” three female Harrods employees, with the youngest being just 17 at the time. Cheska Hill-Wood waived her right to anonymity to be interviewed for the programme, which alleged that the billionaire had targeted young women who worked for him over a 13-year period.

When Al Fayed died last August, his fortune was estimated by Forbes at $2 billion.

In 2010, he sold the luxury department store for £1.5 billion to Qatar Holding, a subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar.

In July 2023, Harrods began out-of-court settlements of claims with women who came forward with allegations of sexual abuse by Al Fayed. Non-disclosure agreements formed part of the settlements.

Harrods said in a statement: “We are utterly shocked by the allegations of abuse made by Mohamed Al Fayed.

“These were the actions of an individual who intended to abuse his power wherever he operated, and we strongly condemn them.

“We also recognize that as a company we have failed our employees who were his victims during this time, and for that we sincerely apologize.”

The statement continued: “The Harrods of today is a very different organisation to the one owned and controlled by Al Fayed between 1985 and 2010. It is an organisation that puts the wellbeing of its employees at the heart of everything we do.

“That is why, since new information came to light in 2023 about historical allegations of sexual abuse by Al Fayed, our priority has been to resolve the claims as quickly as possible, avoiding lengthy legal proceedings for the women involved.

“This process is still available to all current and former Harrods employees.

“While we cannot undo the past, we are committed to doing the right thing as an organization, driven by the values ​​we hold today, while ensuring that such behavior can never be repeated in the future.”

The Egyptian’s entrepreneurial career began on the streets of Alexandria, where, according to legend, he sold soft drinks to passers-by for a few cents.

His fortune soared after his short-lived marriage to Samira, the sister of wealthy Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, from 1954 to 1956, with whom he had his eldest son, Dodi Fayed.

Al Fayed was already a well-known figure in the UK when his son began an unhappy relationship with Diana, Princess of Wales. The couple died in a car crash in 1997 after leaving the Ritz Hotel in Paris, which the Egyptian had owned since 1979.

Since February 1998, Al Fayed had maintained that the crash was the result of a conspiracy, later claiming it had been orchestrated by MI6 on the instructions of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His claims were rejected by a French judicial inquiry.

He applied unsuccessfully for British citizenship twice, in 1994 and 1999.

Fulham FC has announced it is launching an investigation into whether Al Fayed abused employees during his time as owner of the club.