A former Harrods employee alleges she was raped and trafficked while working for the late Harrods owner Mohamed al-Fayed. In November, she filed a petition to the Federal District Court in Connecticut to oblige al-Fayed’s surviving younger brother, Ali Fayed, to give evidence about his alleged knowledge of the crimes. Ali Fayed is the former director of Harrods and the current chairman of a 139-year-old British shirt maker that supplies the royal family. Filing under the pseudonym Jane Doe, the plaintiff alleges that Harrods enabled widespread sexual abuse by its late owner, Mr. al-Fayed and allegedly orchestrated a cover-up of the same.
Founded in the 19th century, Harrods is one of the world’s largest luxury department stores and a symbol of British high society. Mohamed al-Fayed gained full control of the company in 1985, managing it with his two brothers while building strong ties with the royal family and Parliament. In addition to Harrods, at the time the incidents were alleged to have occurred, al-Fayed also owned the Ritz Paris Hotel and Fulham Football Club.
Starting at the company at 19 in the 1990s, Jane Doe reports she was quickly enrolled in the executive training program, placing her in direct contact with Mohammed al-Fayed. She alleges that she was trafficked, raped, and brutally abused multiple times aboard the company’s helicopter and private plane. She also claims that other members of the Fayed family, including Ali Fayed, were aware of her abuse and the trafficking of several other women during this period. A medical examination conducted after her escape from the company confirmed evidence of physical abuse.
While the petition does not bring direct legal claims against Mohamed al-Fayed, it seeks to build a foundation for evidence collection for future litigation in Britain. If the petition is successfully granted by a judge, Ali Fayed may be required to provide documents and testify in a deposition.
Additionally, this petition could support over 20 separate sexual misconduct allegations against the former Harrods chairman, Mohamed al-Fayed, from 2005 to 2023. Evidence was previously presented to the Crown Prosecution for these occurrences, but all cases were dropped due to lack of a “realistic prospect of conviction.”
A culture of sexual harassment and abuse allegedly extends beyond Harrods to all of Mohamed al-Fayed’s business ventures. In 2000, Ronnie Gibbons, former captain of the Fulham women’s team, alleged that when she was 20 years old, al-Fayed forcefully kissed and groped her, and twice trapped her in a room.
Mr. al-Fayed passed away in 2023 at the age of 94 of natural causes. Harrods is now owned by the Gulf state of Qatar purchased via its sovereign wealth fund. Ali Fayed, who is now 80, resides in Greenwich, Connecticut.
In a statement from Harrods, the company states, “We are utterly appalled by the allegations of abuse perpetrated by Mohamed 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 his victims were failed and for this we sincerely apologise”.
The CSE Institute commends the survivors for their courage in coming forward with allegations of abuse and sexual assault. It is essential to pursue justice through proper legal channels, particularly in cases involving significant power imbalances.
We join Harrods in finding the Fayed family’s alleged abuse of wealth and power to directly exploit or enable the exploitation of others appalling. This is not the first time that we have discussed why it is problematic it is for people in positions of wealth, power, or influence to weaponize that position to victimize vulnerable individuals. Indeed, if the allegations are true, the Fayed family enjoyed decades of impunity, and we look forward to seeing justice pursued for their victims.
As consumers, we should consider carefully where we spend our money, avoiding support for companies that enable harmful behavior. We hope the new ownership at Harrods performs the proper due diligence to eradicate further instances of sexual misconduct.
For further exploration of this topic, see the 2024 BBC documentary Al-Fayed: Predator at Harrods. This documentary features interviews with others who accuse Mohamed al-Fayed of similar sexual misconduct and abuse.
All views expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.