Mohamed al Fayed was a “predator” who “preyed on the most vulnerable”, one of his alleged victims has said.
The billionaire was described as a “monster enabled by a system that pervaded Harrods” by lawyers representing 37 alleged victims of sexual abuse, at a press conference in London.
Dean Armstrong KC said the case “combines some of the most horrific elements” of those including Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein.
One of his alleged victims, Natacha, told how she was a “young, naive and totally innocent” 19-year-old when she moved to London.
She believed she had been given “the chance of a lifetime” when she got a job at Harrods and thought it seemed “entirely innocent” when she was offered extra money and gifts to take home to her parents.
“Unbeknownst to me, I had walked into a lion’s den, a lair of cover ups, deceit, lies, manipulation, humiliation, and gross sexual misconduct,” Natacha said, describing Fayed as a “predator”, who “preyed on the most vulnerable”.
She said she was summoned to Fayed’s private apartment one night “on the pretext of a job review” before “the door was locked behind me”.
“I saw his bedroom door partially open – there were sex toys on view” she said. “I felt petrified. I perched myself at the very end of the sofa and then… my boss, the person I worked for, pushed himself onto me.”
Natacha said, after she managed to “kick herself free”, he laughed at her and told her “never to breathe a word of this to anyone”, leaving her feeling “scared and sick”.
More than 20 female former employees have spoken of suffering assaults and physical violence at properties in London and Paris in an investigation published by the BBC.
Five of the women said they had been raped by Fayed, who died last year at the age of 94, while another has now come forward to claim she was subjected to a “sickening” sexual assault by the billionaire.
The legal team involved in a civil claim against Harrods for allegedly failing to provide a safe system of work for its employees said most of the victims were aged 19 to 24, while some were as young as 15 or 16.
They were specially selected for their roles, then told to undergo a private medical examination including a full sexual health screening, lawyers said.
Pic: AP
Mr Armstrong said the claim shows an “abject failure of corporate responsibility” by Harrods and “it is time they took responsibility”.
“This case combines some of the most horrific elements of the cases involving Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein,” he said.
“Savile because in this case, as in that, the institution, we say, knew about the behaviour.
“Epstein because in that case, as in this, there was a procurement system in place to source the women and girls – as you know there are some very young victims.
“And Weinstein, because it was a person at the very top of the organisation who was abusing his power.
“We will say plainly, Mohammed Al Fayed was a monster.”
Harrods said in a statement on Thursday it was “utterly appalled” by the allegations of abuse and apologised to Fayed’s alleged victims.
The department store has also set up a page on its website inviting former employees to come forward if they have allegations.
Read more: Egyptian tycoon was never far from controversy
Fayed had previously been accused of sexually assaulting and groping multiple women, but a 2015 police investigation did not lead to any charges.
The Egypt-born businessman took control of Harrods in 1985 and later expanded his business interests to include the Paris Ritz and Fulham Football Club.
He fought a long campaign following the death of his son, the film producer Dodi Fayed and Princess Diana in 1997, alleging the Paris car crash was not an accident but had been orchestrated by the British security services.
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Harrods said in a statement: “We are utterly appalled by the allegations of abuse perpetrated by Mohamed al Fayed.
“These were the actions of an individual who was intent on abusing his power wherever he operated and we condemn them in the strongest terms.
“We also acknowledge that during this time as a business we failed our employees who were his victims and for this we sincerely apologise.
“The Harrods of today is a very different organisation to the one owned and controlled by Fayed between 1985 and 2010, it is one that seeks to put the welfare of our employees at the heart of everything we do.
“This is why, since new information came to light in 2023 about historic allegations of sexual abuse by Fayed, it has been our priority to settle claims in the quickest way possible, avoiding lengthy legal proceedings for the women involved.”
Metropolitan Police Commander Kevin Southworth said: “We are aware of various allegations of sexual offences made over a number of years in relation to the late Mohammed al Fayed which were reported to the Met.
“Each one was investigated and, where appropriate, advice from the Crown Prosecution Service was sought. No charges resulted from these investigations.”