Mohammed Al-Fayed accused of rape in BBC exposé

Business tycoon Mohammed Al Fayed was accused of rape by several women in a BBC investigative story.

More than 20 former employees have accused Al Fayed, who died last year, of sexual assault; four of them say he raped them.

In their response, the current owners of Harrods told the BBC they were “utterly appalled” by the allegations and that they had failed their victims. They added: “Harrods today is a very different organisation to the one owned and controlled by Al Fayed between 1985 and 2010. It is one that seeks to put the welfare of our people at the heart of everything we do.” Harrods also apologised to the victims.

Al Fayed was accused of sexual assault during his lifetime, but never of rape. In October 2008, he was questioned by London's Metropolitan Police under suspicion after he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old schoolgirl. In the BBC exposé, women speak both publicly and unofficially about how the mogul abused them in London, Paris, St. Tropez and Abu Dhabi, often on business trips.

Al Fayed was an Egyptian billionaire who owned Harrods, the Ritz Paris and Fulham Football Club. His son Dodi was a partner of Princess Diana and died in the same car crash as her in 1997.

Al Fayed’s name has returned to public life in recent years after he was portrayed in The Crown by Salim Daw, for which Daw received a BAFTA nomination. His son Dodi was played by Khalid Abdalla.