Mohamed Al Fayed Estate faces legal action by alleged victims

Five alleged victims of abuse of Mohamed Al Fayed plan to launch legal action against the succession of the deceased billionaire, according to lawyers.

The BBC understands that this is the first time that the succession of Al Fayed has been informed of allegations of this type since allegations of abuse was broadcast in a BBC documentary last year.

Three of the women worked for the end of the billionaire and former owner of Harrods as nannies and two as private airkeepers between 1995 and 2012. They were between 18 and 30 years old when they say that abuses took place.

The Fladgate law firm, which represents the succession, has been contacted for comments.

Leigh Day, the law firm representing the Presumed victims say that women were subject to “serious sexual abuse, harassment and ill -treatment”.

Some allege that they were threatened when they tried to raise concerns or report abuses.

Previous complaints were brought against Harrods, the department store belonging to Al Fayed until 2010.

Richard Meeran, one of the partners working on the case of women, told the BBC: “It is important that his succession is also made legally responsible for generalized abuses that he has perpetrated against those who may never have had relations with the famous store.”

Women pursue compensation under a request for a bodily injury. The letters of complaint, which were sent to the representatives of the succession of Al Fayed on behalf of women, mean the first official stage of the civil legal process before the start of the legal proceedings.

Since the documentary Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods and the Podcast has revealed generalized allegations of mistreatment of the former Harrods employee, the BBC heard nearly 80 women who shared their own experiences.

The first account of the abuses heard by the BBC extended in 1977 and a certain number of women described being recruited by Al Fayed under false pretexts before being sexually exploited by him.

Metropolitan police said that more than 100 alleged victims had contacted them to say that they had been sexually abused by Al Fayed.

They are currently examining a total of 21 allegations presented before his death in 2023.

A number of allegations were made against the businessman when he was still alive, but Al Fayed has never been accused of rape and allegations of sexual assault.

In November, the Met announced an investigation into how he managed the allegations relating to Al Fayed.

Many women who spoke to the BBC of their experiences have raised important questions about how the predatory abuses they say they have suffered have been able to continue in many decades.

The five women, represented by Leigh Day, also call for an independent investigation into the issue.

A Leigh Day spokesperson added: “The letters are sent as part of the pre-action protocol for injury complaints and mark the first official step in the legal process before the start of legal proceedings.”

In January, allegations of abuse against Al Fayed and his brother Salah were heard for the first time in a British court, in a civil affair against Harrods.

Their only surviving brother, Ali Fayed, has also been accused of sexual assault by former employees of the department store. A spokesman for Mr. Fayed, who lives in the United States, said previously that he had unequivocally denied all the allegations of reprehensible acts, adding that “incidents simply never happened”.

The new owners of Harrods previously declared that they were “dismayed” by allegations of sexual abuse and surveyed in 2023 if current members were involved.

In November, The Met said that he was investigating at least five people He thinks he has helped or enabled alleged sexual offenses of Al Fayed.