Survivors of abuse by Mohamed Al Fayed call for trafficking investigation

Without it the ‘true scale’ of former Harrods owner’s alleged network will stay hidden, says survivors’ group

Survivors of abuse perpetrated by the former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed are calling for a full trafficking investigation to be launched, arguing that without it the “true scale” of the billionaire’s alleged network would remain hidden.

Survivors at No One Above (NOA), a collective founded by victims of abuse at the hands of Fayed, are calling for the Metropolitan police to broaden their investigation into the billionaire and make trafficking the main focus.

More than 400 allegations of sexual misconduct have been made against Fayed for the period between 1977 and 2014 – including claims of rape, sexual assault, human trafficking, false imprisonment, drugging, physical violence and forced abortions. The Egyptian businessman died in 2023 aged 94, without facing any charges.

Lawyers representing the Justice for Fayed and Harrods Survivors group said 421 people had come forward about abuse that allegedly took place at the luxury department store in central London, as well as the Ritz hotel in Paris, Fulham FC and other places owned by Fayed.

The Met is investigating 155 victims who have contacted the force directly, 21 of whom came forward before Fayed’s death. However, NOA has argued the Met should focus primarily on trafficking to ensure a wider international network of people who enabled the abuse were also investigated.

The group has urged the National Crime Agency to set up a joint investigation team (Jit) to coincide with the Met’s investigation and to have oversight of it. This would enable the police and prosecutors from other countries to work with UK investigators, the group said.

In May, some MPs raised concerns about the way police had handled previous and current allegations of abuse by Fayed.

The all-party parliamentary group for the survivors of Fayed and Harrods told the BBC: “Survivors of Mohamed Fayed have waited years, and in many cases decades, for the police to investigate allegations against him. Understandably, many fear that his enablers will never be brought to justice.”

Justine, not her real name, worked at Harrods for more than three years in the 90s when she was 22 years old. She said she was trafficked and abused by Fayed and told the Press Association that her experience “followed a now familiar pattern of selection, isolation, grooming, manipulation, coercion, transportation, abuse, intimidation, and then surveillance and threat. It was horrific.

“His modus operandi was a system of walking the floor, which meant he would go out on to the shop floor, flanked by security teams, some of whom were uniformed, some of whom were not, and he would walk the floor spotting the women that he found attractive.

“And then somebody from his team would follow up and invite that young woman up to his offices to meet him, and then it would begin.”

She said women were threatened to stay silent, with security teams following them and making “very direct threats of harm or ruin”.

Justine, a member of NOA, urged the investigation into Fayed’s crimes to be viewed as a wider trafficking operation with “many helpers” rather than sexual abuse perpetrated by one individual.

She said: “Fayed could not have masterminded this system without many helpers, including security personnel, HR staff, people in banks authorising vast sums of cash for Fayed to give to women, people who worked at the private airports.

“Without a trafficking investigation and a Jit, the true scale of this network isn’t going to be seen, because everything’s being drip, drip, drip fed.”

The Met said it had interviewed four suspects under caution in the 18 months since it opened its investigation.

Justine said she spoke to the police about her experience in 2018 and told PA that there was “absolutely no follow-up or action taken”.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct is investigating how allegations against Fayed were handled – one serving officer and four former officers are being investigated.

A Met spokesperson told PA: “Specialist detectives continue to lead one of the Met’s largest and most complex investigations. Over the past 18 months, officers have taken detailed accounts from victims and witnesses to build a comprehensive picture of the alleged offending.

“The victims are at the heart of our investigation, and it remains our priority to communicate with them clearly and meaningfully as the investigation progresses.”