British police said on Friday they have filed 40 new charges related to former Mohammed Al Fayed, owner of Harrods department store following a bbc documentary In which the victims had accused the late businessman of sexual exploitation and rape.
egyptian billionaire Al Fayed died last year at the age of 94 After making newspaper headlines for decades as one of Britain’s most famous businessmen.
A BBC documentary said he sexually abused female staff at Harrods in London and threatened them when they tried to complain. It says Harrods failed to intervene and helped conceal allegations of abuse during its ownership.
Harrods, which Al Fayed sold in 2010, has said it is “shocked” by the allegations and is now a “very different organisation”.
Police last month called on anyone with allegations against Al Fayed to contact them and said they would consider prosecuting others following the allegations.
Stephen Kleeman, head of specialist crime at London’s Metropolitan Police, said: “Detectives have received a range of information, mainly relating to the activities of Mohammed Al Fayed, but some relating to the activities of others.”
Police said the new charges relate to 40 victims and involve crimes including sexual assault and rape from 1979 to 2013.
They are in addition to the 21 allegations made about Al Fayed before the documentary. They were reported to the police between 2005 and 2023 but no action was taken against them.
Al Fayed always denied the allegations.
He said, while most of the new information relates to his ownership of Harrods from 1985 to 2010, police are contacting other organizations linked to him to ensure that anyone affected is identified.
Harrods did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Friday’s police announcement.
