Investigators in France are examining new allegations that the late Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed and his brother Salah operated a network resembling the methods used by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. French magistrates opened the investigation earlier this year after multiple women accused the brothers of sexual assault and trafficking across decades.
Authorities began examining claims tied to the former Harrods owner after a 2024 investigation brought renewed attention to the allegations. British police say 154 victims have come forward accusing Mohamed Al-Fayed of abuse. Some alleged victims have now turned to French authorities, hoping a specialized trafficking unit will pursue the claims more aggressively.
Kristina Svensson, a former assistant who worked at the Ritz hotel owned by Al-Fayed, told investigators, “Every time I met Mohamed Al-Fayed, he tried to assault me.” Svensson said she endured repeated encounters in which she was left waiting alone until Al-Fayed arrived, followed by assault and attempted rape during which “he’d laugh.”
Another accuser, Rachael Louw, described being recruited while working at Harrods and later sent to Salah Fayed’s yacht in the French Riviera. Louw said she expected routine office work but instead found “there was no office, no normal working hours, no time off. I was expected to just be with him.” She recalled waking during one night to find Salah in her bed, saying she lay “petrified” and feared what might happen next.
Lawyers representing accusers argue the allegations reveal a coordinated system targeting young employees. Attorney Eva Joly said, “As with Epstein, with the Al-Fayeds there is a frenzied consumption of young women and an organised system to procure them.”
French investigators say the case could identify individuals who enabled the alleged network. Legal teams emphasize the inquiry may still uncover prosecutable crimes and additional victims as authorities continue piecing together the case.
Mohamed Al-Fayed’s son Emad El-Din Mohamed Abdel Mena’em “Dodi” Fayed was infamously involved in an alleged romantic relationship with Diana, Princess of Wales, when they both died in a car crash in Paris in 1997.
