Former employees of the luxury London department store Harrods have accused its former owner, Mohamed Al-Fayed, of rape and sexual assault. Five women claim they were raped, while over 20 former employees allege that the billionaire, who passed away last year at the age of 94, sexually assaulted them.

The shocking testimonies were brought to light by the BBC. The documentary and podcast “Al-Fayed: Predator at Harrods” gathered evidence indicating that during Mohamed Al-Fayed’s ownership, not only did Harrods fail to intervene, but it also helped cover up abuse allegations.

The current owners of the famous department store expressed being “completely shocked” by the claims and issued an apology to the victims. Meanwhile, Bruce Drummond, a lawyer representing several of the women, spoke of a very dark web of corruption and abuse within the company.

“He was actively cultivating fear”

The incidents reportedly took place in London, Paris, St. Tropez and Abu Dhabi.

One of the women who reported that al Fayed raped her in his Park Lane apartment made it clear that she did not give her consent and was clear that she did not want there to be a sexual act.

Another woman says she was a teenager when the then Harrods boss raped her in Mayfair and states that al Fayed was a monster, with no moral compass, who actively cultivated fear in workers.

The former owner of Harrods faced allegations of sexual assault in his lifetime before. The BBC believes the new revelations are of unprecedented scale and severity and estimates that even more women may have been assaulted.

“He was miserable”

Al Fayed, who died in 2023 at the age of 94, began his business career in Egypt and moved to the United Kingdom in 1974. His marriage to the sister of a millionaire Saudi arms dealer helped him make connections and build his business empire.

In the mid-1980s he bought Harrods. Through his television appearances he became known to the general public. He gained even more publicity after the death of his son Dodi with Princess Diana. In the popular Netflix series “The Crown”, the billionaire is portrayed in a positive way that contradicts the complaints of women.

“He was miserable,” says one of the women, Sophia, who worked as his personal assistant from 1988 to 1991 and who says he tried to rape her more than once.

Several testimonies, some given anonymously, reveal a pattern of predatory behaviour and sexual abuse by Al Fayed, who when he owned Harrods regularly went to the vast sales floors and spotted young women he found attractive. He would then promote them to work in his offices upstairs, former employees say.

“He raped me”

Another woman was working as a personal assistant at Harrods in the 1990s when she was invited to his luxury Park Lane apartment with a Hyde Park theme. Going into descriptions of the incident, the woman describes what happened. “He raped me,” she says.

The BBC spoke to 13 women who allege the billionaire sexually assaulted them in his home. Four of them say they were victims of rape.

Gemma, who worked as al Fayed’s personal assistant between 2007-2009, claims that during business trips abroad his behaviour became even more frightening. She says he was raped in Paris, at the villa where King Edward VIII and his wife Wallis Simpson stayed after his abdication from the British throne.

Eight other women have also said they were sexually assaulted by Al Fayed at his homes in Paris. Of those, five have claimed attempted rape.

“Common Secret”

The abuse of women appears to have been a common secret, as former employees admit. However, some of them say they were unaware of the sexual assaults or rapes.

Former employees say that when they started working directly for Al Fayed they were subjected to medical examinations, including invasive sexual health screenings, which was presented to them as a privilege.

The women speak of a culture of fear in the department store, starting with the lowest ranking employee and working up to the highest ranking employee. Some believed that Harrods’ phones were tapped and that women felt afraid to talk to each other about Al Fayed’s abuse, as they believed they were being recorded by hidden cameras.

Former deputy director of security, Eamon Coyle, confirmed their fears, explaining that part of his job was listening to the tapes of the recorded calls. Cameras had been installed throughout the store, including in the executive suites. “He was watching everyone he wanted to watch,” he said.

In a statement, the current Harrods management condemned Al Fayed’s actions in the strongest possible terms and assured that today, the organisation is very different from the one the billionaire ran until 2010.

Efforts to expose him

There have been several attempts in the past to bring Al Fayed’s actions to light. The Vanity Fair, in a 1995 article, cited racism, staff surveillance and sexually inappropriate behavior. The magazine was sued for libel. Mohammed Al Fayed later agreed to drop the case as long as all further evidence the magazine had gathered about his sexual misconduct was locked up in preparation for a trial. The settlement was negotiated by a senior Harrods executive.

Serious allegations were hosted by ITV’s The Big Story in 1997.

One of the women who spoke to the BBC said that in 2008 she was 15 years old and reported being assaulted. Her complaint made headlines but did not lead to charges against Al Fayed.

In 2017, Channel 4’s Dispatches broadcast allegations of sexual assault and harassment, with one woman waiving her right to anonymity for the first time. This gave some women the courage to speak out – and was followed by an investigation in 2018 on Channel 4 News.

But many women only felt able to speak out publicly after Mohammed Al Fayed’s death.

Counts and confidentiality agreement

The BBC documentary reveals that in 2009, a woman, as part of the settlement, had to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), which is a legally binding contract that ensures information remains confidential.

The woman left her job due to sexual harassment, however she was then unable to disclose the severity of Al Fayed’s assaults. Harrods paid her a sum of money in return for her destroying all evidence and signing the confidentiality agreement. Present at the signing of the agreement was a member of the department store’s human resources team.

Lawsuits for damages against Harrods were filed by 14 women. The current owners, who did not ask the women to sign a confidentiality agreement, began settling them in July 2023.

Many women are now considering taking legal action against the business. Two attorneys representing some of these women argue that the store was responsible for the safety of its employees and failed. In fact, nothing was done to prevent the sexual assaults. Instead, there were clear attempts by senior managers to sweep the allegations under the rug. Now, several women intend to take legal action

Harrods told the BBC: “Since 2023 when new information about historic allegations of sexual abuse by Al Fayed came to light, it has been our priority to settle the claims as quickly as possible. This process is still available to any current or former Harrods employee. While we cannot undo the past, we were determined to do the right thing as an organisation, guided by the values we stand for today, while ensuring that such behaviours can never be repeated in the future.”