Who was Mohamed Al-Fayed? Former Harrods boss hit with rape allegations
The incidents allegedly took place in London, Paris, St Tropez and Abu Dhabi.
The former boss of luxury department store Harrods Mohamed Al-Fayed has been accused of rape and sexual assault by a string of numerous former employees.
More than 20 women have spoken to the BBC as part of a special investigation, coming forward with allegations of assault and physical violence at properties in London and Paris.
The broadcaster reported five women alleged they had been raped by Mr Al Fayed, who died last year aged 94.
Mr Al Fayed had previously been accused of sexually assaulting and groping multiple women.
He was the father of Dodi Al Fayed, who was killed in the 1997 car crash which also claimed the life of Diana, Princess of Wales.
Who was Mohamed Al-Fayed?
Mohamed Al-Fayed was an Egyptian billionaire businessman, known for owning the Hotel Ritz in Paris, Harrods and Fulham FC.
He was born in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1929 and was the eldest son of a primary school teacher and brother to four siblings.
Al-Fayed moved to England in the 1960s - (the 'al' was reportedly added to his name sometime after his move) - before meeting the former ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum who entrusted him with helping transform Dubai.
The businessman introduced several British companies to the emirate to carry out the required construction work and became a financial adviser to the then Sultan of Brunei Omar Ali Saifuddien III in 1966.
Al-Fayed bought The Ritz Hotel in Paris in 1979, and Harrods in London in 1984, while he also owned Fulham FC between 1997 to 2013.
He married Saudi Arabian journalist Samira Khashoggi in 1954 and had a son, Dodi. They divorced in 1956 and Al-Fayed got married again in 1985 to Finnish socialite and former model Heini Wathén, with whom he had four children, daughters Jasmine (1980) and Camilla (1985), and sons Karim (1983) and Omar (1987). He died in 2023 from old age.
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Who was Dodi Fayed?
Dodi Al Fayed was an Egyptian film producer and the eldest child of the businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed.
He was born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1955 and attended prestigious schools in Alexandria, Switzerland as well as the UK.
Dodi was rumoured to have been "linked" to "a lot of women," including Julia Roberts, Brooke Shields, Winona Ryder, and Nancy Sinatra, but his most famous relationship was that with Princess Diana.
In 1986, Dodi married model Suzanne Gregard but they divorced eight months later. In 1997, he reportedly became engaged to American model Kelly Fisher.
Dodi first met Princess Diana at a 1986 polo match in Windsor, when she was still married to the then Prince Charles, but they became romantically involved after his father Mohamed invited the Princess of Wales and her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, to spend time on his yacht, the Jonikal, in the south of France in the summer of 1997.
Dodi died in the car crash that also killed Princess Diana in 1997 in Paris.
Responding to the allegations, a Harrods spokesman said: "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 Al 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 Al Fayed, it has been our priority to settle claims in the quickest way possible, avoiding lengthy legal proceedings for the women involved. This process is still available for any current or former Harrods employees.
"While we cannot undo the past, we have been determined to do the right thing as an organisation, driven by the values we hold today, while ensuring that such behaviour can never be repeated in the future."
