British police said on Friday they had laid 40 new charges linked to former Harrods department store owner Mohamed Al Fayed following a BBC documentary in which victims accused the late businessman of sexual abuse and rape.
Egyptian billionaire Al Fayed died last year, aged 94, after making headlines for decades as one of the UK’s best-known businessmen.
The BBC documentary claims he sexually assaulted women workers at Harrods in London and threatened them if they tried to complain. The documentary claims Harrods failed to take action to cover up allegations of abuse during the time it owned the company.
Harrods, sold by Al Fayed in 2010, said it was “shocked” by the allegations and was now “a very different organisation”.
Last month, police asked anyone with allegations against Al Fayed to get in touch and said they would seek to press charges following the allegations.
“Investigators have received a large amount of information, predominantly relating to the activities of Mohamed Al Fayed, but some relating to the actions of others,” said Stephen Clayman, head of London’s Metropolitan Police’s specialist crime section.
The new charges involve 40 victims and cover crimes including sexual assault and rape from 1979 to 2013, according to police.
They add to the 21 charges against Al Fayed made before the documentary. The victims were reported to the police between 2005 and 2023, but no action was taken against him.
Al Fayed has always denied the accusations.
While most of the new information relates to Harrods ownership between 1985 and 2010, police are contacting other organizations linked to it to ensure anyone involved is identified.
Harrods did not initially respond to Reuters’ request for comment on Friday’s police announcement.
Source: Terra
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