Evidence Against Mohamed Al-Fayed Was Presented to British Prosecution Services Twice Before New Allegations

The U.K.’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was twice presented with evidence against Mohamed Al-Fayed — the late Harrods owner who has since been accused of multiple rapes — though the organization determined there was not a “realistic prospect of conviction” both times.

According to multiple outlets, including the BBC, The Independent and The Standard, the CPS was presented the findings by Metropolitan Police in both 2009 and 2015 tied to allegations that Al-Fayed assaulted a 15-year-old girl in 2008, as well as a separate 2013 rape allegation against him.

“We reviewed files of evidence presented by the police in 2009 and 2015,” a CPS spokesperson said in a statement to PEOPLE on Sunday, Sept. 22. “To bring a prosecution, the CPS must be confident there is a realistic prospect of conviction.”

“In each instance, our prosecutors looked carefully at the evidence and concluded this wasn’t the case,” the statement added.

According to The Independent, which cited a spokesperson for Metropolitan Police, authorities investigated “various allegations of sexual offenses made over a number of years” against the late Harrods owner, which “no charges resulted” from.

An investigating police force must provide a file of evidence to CPS in order for it to be formally involved in an investigation.

As The Sunday Times first reported, in 2018, 2021 and 2023, the CPS provided investigative advice to Met Police over other allegations against Al-Fayed, but a full file of evidence was not given.

According to a recent report from the BBC, five women claimed Al-Fayed raped them when they worked at the luxury London department store, which he owned from 1985 to 2010.

As detailed in the new documentary and podcast Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods, over 20 female former employees provided testimony that Al-Fayed — who died in August 2023 — sexually assaulted them, with the alleged crimes said to have taken place in London, St. Tropez, Abu Dhabi and Paris.

Among the alleged victims are a woman who claimed Al-Fayed raped her at his London apartment, another woman who said he raped her when she was a teenager and one other woman named Sophia (who worked as his personal assistant from 1988 to 1991) who claimed she was sexually assaulted and that he tried to rape her more than once, per the BBC.

Another personal assistant named Gemma, who worked for him from 2007 to 2009, claimed he raped her at Villa Windsor in Paris.

Harrods — which was sold by Al-Fayed in 2010 — said in a statement released on Thursday, Sept. 19, that it was “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,” the statement continued. “We also acknowledge that during this time as a business, we failed our employees who were his victims and for this, we sincerely apologize.”

Adding that “the Harrods of today is a very different organization to the one owned and controlled by Al Fayed between 1985 and 2010,” the company concluded its message by stating that it aims to put “the welfare of our employees at the heart of everything we do.”

Lawyer Dean Armstrong, who is representing some of Al-Fayed’s alleged victims, said on Friday, Sept. 20, that a website has been set up to enable others to come forward.

As many as 37 women had done so by Sept. 20. “I have never seen a case as horrific as this,” Armstrong said during a London press conference.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.