Dozens of women have accused the former owner of Harrods, Mohamed Al Fayed, of sexual assault, with lawyers saying the late billionaire was "a monster."
At least 37 women from all over the world have come forward with allegations of abuse involving the Egyptian billionaire. Al Fayed died last year at the age of 94.
Al Fayed is accused of sexually assaulting, raping and attempting to rape multiple women — including minors — hired as his secretaries and personal assistants at the Knightsbridge department store.
Allegations of abuse over a 25-year period
At a press briefing in London on Friday — in the wake of a BBC documentary "Al-Fayed: Predator At Harrods," — lawyers representing some of the women said they were victims of "systematic abuse" over 25 years "within the knowledge of Harrods," which Al Fayed sold in 2010.
Harrods, the high-end department store in London, said in a statement that it was "utterly appalled by the allegations of abuse perpetrated by Mohamed Al Fayed" and said that they "were the actions of an individual intent on abusing his power."
Harrods said that while it couldn't undo the past, it was "determined to do the right thing as an organisation" and urged any current or former employee who had been victims of sexual abuse to contact them.
Dean Armstrong, a lawyer representing the 37 women, said there was an "abject failure of corporate responsibility and a failure to provide a safe system at work."
"He was a monster enabled by the system," Armstrong told a news conference.
Over the years, there have been numerous accusations of sexual harassment against Al Fayed. Former Harrod's employees have in the past told several British news outlets that he would target young, attractive female staff members.
Attacks alleged to have taken place at Al Fayed's properties
The assaults allegedly took place in his apartments in London and at his properties in Paris, including the Ritz hotel, which he also owned.
Fayed was likened to disgraced late financier Jeffrey Epstein "because there was a procurement system in place to source the women and girls for abuse" and fallen Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein because he was "at the top of the organization."
Armstrong said there were also similarities to the late pedophile BBC children's television presenter Jimmy Savile, because "the institution, we say, knew about the behavior."
Al Fayed was a controversial figure over the years who had accused the British Royal Family of complicity in the deaths of his son Dodi and Princess Diana in a Paris tunnel in 1997.
