French authorities are investigating a massive sex trafficking network allegedly run by the late Mohammed al-Fayed and his brother, with victims demanding justice after Britain’s dismay.
Paris: French prosecutors are investigating late Egyptian tycoon Mohammed al-Fayed and his brother Salah over allegations they operated a vast sex trafficking and abuse network.
The investigation, launched last year and handled by a special human trafficking unit, follows testimony from former employees who describe a predatory system comparable to that of Jeffrey Epstein.
“Every time I met Mohammed al-Fayed, he tried to attack me,” Christina Svensson, his former personal assistant, told French police while she worked at the Paris Ritz.
Her account echoes allegations first revealed in a 2024 BBC investigation, where multiple women accused Mohammed al-Fayed of rape and sexual assault during his ownership of Harrods.
British police have recorded 154 victims accusing the former Fulham FC owner of abuse, including crimes spanning more than 35 years.
Frustrated with the pace of London Metropolitan Police investigations, some victims have turned to France.
Former employee Rachel Louw, speaking publicly for the first time, said, “In England they are ignoring trafficking… They only want to make it about Al-Fayed and Harrods.”
He revealed that in 1994 he was sent to Salah Fayed’s yacht on the French Riviera after an intensive medical examination conducted by Harrods.
The doctor’s report, seen by AFP, contained confidential information about his personal life and health, which was later handed over to the company.
“These young women were like meat, and they wanted to know if they were fit to eat,” said lawyer Caroline Joly, part of the French legal team.
Louw testified that her passport was confiscated and she was kept in isolation on the yacht, hoping to join Salah on a dinner with rich men and young girls.
She recalled waking up one night to find Salah in her bed claiming he was alone, which frightened her.
Louv also saw Mohammed al-Fayed applying lotion and kissing a young girl on his yacht in St. Tropez.
She eventually escaped by booking a flight and asking for her passport back, after which she blocked the details for decades.
“How can I remain silent? The criminals will pay a price for what they did,” Louw said in 2024, explaining her decision to come forward after seeing other victims speak out.
Svensson described a similar pattern of manipulation and attack after being appointed as al-Fayed’s assistant at the Ritz in 1998.
She said her interview focused on her appearance and personal background, with management saying she was the “spitting image” of al-Fayed’s wife.
“I was hoping that in time he would understand that I was not interested in him and that he would take me seriously,” Svensson said, describing herself as a foreign national with no support network.
She recalls that Ritz staff warned her about microphones and cameras, and that a maid in St. Tropez suggested she lock her bedroom door at night.
Ritz Paris said it was “deeply saddened” by the allegations and “stands ready to cooperate fully with judicial authorities”.
Harrods said it would “continue to support the bravery of all the women who have come forward” and said more than 180 survivors had received counselling.
The store urged survivors to claim compensation through its independent redress scheme.
London’s Metropolitan Police said it was “continuing to investigate those who helped or enabled the humiliation of Mohammed al-Fayed.”
The women’s lawyers argue that the case reveals an “organized system” resembling Epstein’s network for procuring young women.
Lawyer Eva Jolie said, “Like Epstein, al-Fayed has a maniacal consumption of young women and an organized system for acquiring them.”
He stressed that although the statute of limitations has expired for some crimes, investigations can still establish the facts and identify prosecutable cases.
