āMonsterā Al Fayed had elements of Savile, Epstein and Weinstein, lawyers say
Mohamed Al Fayed was a āmonsterā whose case involves the āmost horrific elements of ā¦ Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinsteinā, his alleged victimsā legal team has said.Five women alleged they had been raped by Mr Al Fayed, who died last year at the age of 94, with a number of others alleging sexual misconduct.A press conference which set out the claims made against the late Harrodsā owner heard there was a āsystematic failure of corporate responsibilityā.Barrister Dean Armstrong KC told reporters: āAnd that systematic failure is on the shoulders of Harrods.āThe legal team also represents women who were employed by the Paris Ritz and investigations were ongoing into āall entities that he had involvement inā, including Fulham Football Club.In a statement, Fulham said the club is ādeeply troubled and concernedā about the case and were āin the process of establishing whether anyone at the club is or has been affectedā.Mr Armstrong said compensation from Harrods for women who have claimed sexual abuse against Mr Al Fayed would be āwelcomeā, but added: āWe are not going to sit here and accept any suggestion that we are only interested in money.āThe legal team featured in a BBC documentary called Al-Fayed: Predator At Harrods, where more than 20 female former employees spoke to the broadcaster as part of a special investigation, coming forward with allegations of assault and physical violence at properties in London and Paris.Speaking at a press conference in London on Friday, Mr Armstrong KC said he had ānever seen a case as horrific as thisā.He told reporters: āThis case combines some of the most horrific elements of the cases involving Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein.āSavile because in this case, as in that, the institution, we say, knew about the behaviour.āEpstein because in that case, as in this, there was a procurement system in place to source the women and girls ā as you know there are some very, young victims.āAnd Weinstein, because it was a person at the very top of the organisation who was abusing his power.āWe will say plainly, Mohamed Al Fayed was a monster.āMr Armstrong said the legal team has been retained by 37 of Mr Al Fayedās accusers and is āin the process of being retained by many moreā.Also at the press conference was an alleged victim of Mr Al Fayed, who went by the name of Natacha, and said the āfear instilled left me paralysedā.She said: āThese private meetings turned into more of a forced kiss, his hands gripping your face to his lips or pulling you down on his lap, where his hands were free to explore any part of your body that he wished.āThese incidents lasted seconds, but the fear instilled left me paralysed.āAl Fayed brushed off these moments like they had never happened, but I was always reminded not to mention them to anyone.āNatacha added: āUnbeknownst to me, I had walked into a lionās den, a layer of cover-ups, deceit, lies, manipulation, humiliation and gross sexual misconduct.āUS lawyer Gloria Allred described Harrods as a ātoxic, unsafe and abusive environmentā under the chairmanship of Mr Al Fayed.She told the press conference that the allegations against Mr Al Fayed include serial rape, attempted rape, sexual battery and sexual abuse of minors.Ms Allred said: āThey involved doctors administering invasive gynaecological exams as a condition of employment for some of the employees who were targeted by Mohamed Al Fayed for sexual abuse.āThe allegations also include the unauthorised disclosure to Mohamed Al Fayed of the examination results of employees he targeted for sexual abuse.āBarrister Bruce Drummond told the press conference that Harrods āmust accept responsibility for the damage these women have sufferedā.He said: āThis is one of the worst cases of corporate sexual exploitation that certainly I, and perhaps the world has ever seen.āIt was absolutely horrific and I canāt stress that word enough.āMr Al Fayed had previously been accused of sexually assaulting and groping multiple women, but a previous police investigation did not lead to any charges.Harrods previously said it was āutterly appalledā by the allegations of abuse and said it had set up a page on its website inviting former employees to come forward if they have allegations.