Britain’s criminal prosecution office said Sunday that it has twice received evidence against the now-disgraced ex-Harrods boss Mohamed Al-Fayed, who has been accused of s*xual assault and r*pe by many women, but had not filed charges.
In a BBC documentary published on Thursday, a number of women who had previously worked at the high-end London department store accused Fayed of s*xual assault, with five alleging r*pe.
A legal team representing 37 people is pursuing claims against Harrods, accusing the company of condoning “systematic” abuse of young women and girls over a 25-year period.
Lawyers said they had received more than 150 fresh inquiries following the BBC report.
A Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) spokesperson on Sunday cited two previous cases in which the Egyptian billionaire, who died last year, was accused of s*xual offenses.
“We reviewed files of evidence presented by the police in 2009 and 2015”, said the spokesperson, who asked not to be named.
In 2008, Fayed was accused of s*xually assaulting a 15-year-old girl and CPS reviewed evidence in 2009. In 2013, he was accused of r*ping a woman, a claim investigated in 2015.
In both instances, the CPS said there was no “realistic prospect of conviction” and did not bring charges.
“To bring a prosecution the CPS must be confident there is a realistic prospect of conviction – in each instance, our prosecutors looked carefully at the evidence and concluded this wasn’t the case,” the spokesperson said.
The CPS said it also provided London’s Metropolitan Police with early investigative advice over allegations against Fayed three times between 2018 and 2023.
The Met was “aware of various allegations of s*xual offences made over a number of years” related to Fayed, the force’s public protection lead Kevin Southworth said on Friday, adding that it would investigate if “further information comes to light”.
Harrods, which was sold by Fayed in 2010, said it was “utterly apalled” by the allegations.