The son of Mohammed al-Fayed, the late former Harrods boss accused of sexually assaulting several staff, has said the allegations have “brought into question my loving memory of him”.
Lawyers say about 60 women have come forward to allege that they were abused by Fayed, who died last year at the age of 94, following a television documentary in which the women accused him of rape and torture. Was accused of sexual harassment.
“I am horrified and deeply concerned by the allegations that have recently surfaced against my late father,” Omar Fayed said in a statement.
“The breadth and explicit nature of the allegations are shocking and call into question my fond memory of her,” he said.
“It raises even more troubling questions about how this matter was covered up for so long and in so many ways,” he said.
The flood of allegations against the late Egyptian billionaire comes after the BBC revealed last week that women said they were targeted by Fayed when they worked for the London luxury department store Harrods, which is owned by He was there for 25 years.
His son said that although he loved his father “very much” and that he was a “wonderful father, that aspect of our relationship… does not keep me from objective assessment of the circumstances”.
The alleged victims deserve “full transparency and accountability,” he said in a statement to Sky News late Friday.
He said, “I will continue to support the principles of truth, justice, accountability and fairness, no matter what direction the journey takes. No one is above the law.”
Fayed’s accusers say the attacks took place at his apartment in London and his properties in Paris, including the Ritz hotel.
The allegations involve a repeated pattern of women who went through the selection process for positions close to Fayed.
Once selected, they were subjected to an “invasive” gynecological examination, the results of which were shared with Fayed.
The women said that when they tried to complain about their abuse, they were threatened, demoted and made false allegations by senior security staff until they had “no choice” but to leave Harrods. .
Fayed sold Harrods, the investment arm of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, in 2010 for a reported £1.5 billion ($2.2 billion).
He also owned Fulham Football Club and the Ritz Hotel in Paris.
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