Mohamed Al-Fayed, the late billionaire whose son died with Princess Diana, has been accused of inappropriate sexual conduct including rape by multiple women and girls.
The Egyptian businessman and ex-owner of the luxury London department store Harrods is the subject of a new BBC documentary "Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods." BBC reports it heard testimony from 20 women and girls, including 13 survivors who opened up in the doc about Al-Fayed's alleged abuse. Al-Fayed died last year at 94.
At the time of the alleged abuse, he owned the Ritz Paris hotel and British football club Fulham FC in addition to Harrods. BBC says the documentary will show "the scale and seriousness of these allegations" for the first time and suggests Harrods helped cover up Al-Fayed's crimes.
Al Fayed's 25-year tenure as owner of Harrods lasted from 1985 to 2010. According to a BBC News article published Thursday, the alleged incidents took place in London; St. Tropez, France; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; and Paris, where his son died.
An Associated Press article published last year chronicled Al-Fayed's controversial beliefs surrounding his son's death alongside Princess Diana in a Paris car crash after a paparazzi chase in 1997. According to the AP, the billionaire believed the pair were killed in a conspiracy masterminded by Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II.
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Other claims documented by the AP said that Diana was pregnant with Al-Fayed's grandchild, and she planned to marry his son, but the royal family did not want the princess to marry a Muslim.
In a statement published on their website, Harrods addressed the allegations of abuse Thursday.
"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," the statement reads. "We also acknowledge that during this time as a business we failed our employees who were his victims and for this we sincerely apologize."
The statement continued, calling Harrods "a very different organization than it was when Al-Fayed owned it," saying they "cannot undo the past" while promising to ensure "that such behaviour can never be repeated in the future."
The company said that "since new information came to light in 2023 about historic allegations of sexual abuse by Al Fayed, it has been our priority to settle claims in the quickest way possible." They added that they want to avoid "lengthy legal proceedings" for the women involved and they will continue that process for current and former employees.