Harrods tycoon Mohamed Al Fayed accused of rape: Five former employees say the late billionaire sexually harassed them and “covered up the allegations”

Former Harrods boss Mohamed Al Fayed is accused of rape; five former female employees claim the late billionaire sexually harassed them in the London luxury department store.

According to a new BBC documentary, the Egyptian-born businessman, who died in London last August aged 94, carried out the attacks while running the outlet between 1984 and its sale in 2010.

The company says that more than 20 former female Harrods employees have come forward and accused it of sexual abuse.

The new show “Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods” claims that the company itself not only failed to help the alleged victims, but also covered up their claims.

The current owners of the store said they were “deeply shocked” by the allegations and apologized to the women affected.

A new BBC documentary says the Egyptian-born businessman, who died in London last August aged 94, carried out the attacks during his tenure as Harrods boss between 1984 and the sale of the department store in 2010.

The company says more than 20 former female Harrods employees have come forward and accused Al Fayed (pictured) of sexual abuse

Bruce Drummond, a lawyer representing some of the former employees, said: “The web of corruption and abuse in this company was unbelievable and very dark.”

The alleged attacks are said to have taken place not only in London, but also in Paris and St. Tropez in France, as well as in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.

One of the women involved, who said Fayed raped her in his flat in London's Park Lane, told BBC investigators: “I made it clear that I did not want this to happen.”

“I didn't agree. I just wanted it to be over.”

Another woman reported being raped at the same Mayfair address as a teenager and described treating staff at Harrods like their “toys”.

She said: “Mohamed Al Fayed was a monster, a sexual predator without any moral basis.”

“We were all so scared. He deliberately stoked the fear. When he said 'jump', the staff asked, 'How high?'”

One of his alleged victims is called Gemma. She worked as Al Fayed's personal assistant between 2007 and 2009 and says his behaviour became even more frightening when he was on business trips abroad.

She says he raped her at the Windsor Villa in Paris' Bois de Boulogne, the former residence of King Edward VIII, who died after his abdication, and his wife Wallis Simpson.

She described waking up to find him trying to get into bed with her, adding: “I told him, 'No, I don't want that.'”

Mohamed Al Fayed, former owner of Harrods and Fulham FC, in 2018

Mohamed Al Fayed next to Diana, Princess of Wales, at a charity event at Harrods in London in 1996

“And he just kept trying to get into bed, and then he was on top of me and [I] I really couldn't move anywhere.

“I was lying face down on the bed and he just pushed himself on top of me.”

During his lifetime, Fayed was accused of sexual assault, but the BBC now believes that many more women may have fallen victim to his activities.

In a statement to the BBC, Harrods said: “The Harrods of today is a very different organisation to the one owned and controlled by Al Fayed between 1985 and 2010.”

“We strive to put the well-being of our employees at the center of all our activities.”

Fayed was born in Alexandria in 1929 and moved to Britain in the 1960s, where he became an early driving force in the development of Dubai.

He later bought the House of Fraser, including Harrods, and the Ritz Hotel in Paris with his brothers, which he owned until his death.

He began his career selling lemonade and then worked as a sewing machine salesman.

He built his family's fortune in real estate, shipping and construction, first in the Middle East and then in Europe.

Mohamed Al Fayed with his wife Heini Wathen in 2016. The couple had four children

Mr Al Fayed (right) with Prince Charles (back to camera) and Diana during a Harrods sponsored polo match in 1987

Mohamed Al Fayed with the Queen in 1997. His business dealings and charitable work allowed him to move in high society, although he complained about what he saw as the biased attitude of the establishment.

By building a business empire in the UK and establishing a charitable foundation, he associated with the UK's most famous people – from celebrities to royals.

It is believed that Fayed met Diana, Princess of Wales, and the then Prince Charles at a polo match in the 1980s – and through this connection introduced them to his son Dodi.

He later conducted investigations into the plane crash that killed Dodi and Diana on August 31, 1997 – almost exactly 26 years before his own death.

Diana – who divorced Charles in 1992 – and Dodi were photographed together in St. Tropez in 1997, sparking rumours of a romance.

The couple were then travelling together when they attempted to leave the Ritz Hotel in Paris on the fateful morning of August 31 of that year.

The younger Al-Fayed and the Princess of Wales were being driven away from the paparazzi by Henri Paul, the hotel's deputy head of security, when Paul lost control of the car and crashed into a pillar at a speed of about 65 miles per hour.

Dodi's father Fayed launched his own private investigation into the plane crash after becoming dissatisfied with the official investigation – and spread a series of conspiracy theories claiming the establishment had a hand in her death.

However, a 2008 inquest concluded that Dodi and Diana were unlawfully killed due to a combination of Paul's drunk driving, the fact that neither of them were wearing seatbelts, and the erratic driving of the paparazzi who were pursuing them.