More than 400 allegations of sexual misconduct have been made against the late Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed, and now survivors are demanding that the Metropolitan Police open a full trafficking investigation to uncover the full scale of what they describe as a network of abuse. The Egyptian billionaire, who died in 2023 aged 94 without ever facing charges, is accused of rape, sexual assault, human trafficking, false imprisonment, drugging, physical violence and forced abortions between 1977 and 2014. The abuse allegedly took place at his luxury department store in London, the Ritz hotel in Paris, Fulham Football Club and other properties he owned. The Metropolitan Police are currently investigating 155 victims who have contacted them directly — 21 of whom came forward before Fayed's death — under an operation codenamed Operation Cornpoppy. So far, four people have been questioned in connection with the case, but no charges have been brought. However, survivors represented by the collective No One Above (NOA) argue that the current investigation focuses too narrowly on individual victims and offenders, and that a trafficking-focused probe would allow police to examine the wider network, including recruitment chains, financial flows and institutional complicity. They are also calling on the National Crime Agency (NCA) to set up a joint investigation team (JIT) to run alongside the Met's work, enabling collaboration with police and prosecutors from other countries where abuse may have taken place. Lawyers representing the Justice for Fayed and Harrods Survivors group say 421 people have come forward. The No One Above group argues that without a trafficking investigation, the true scale of Fayed's alleged operations will remain hidden. Survivors have raised concerns about the Metropolitan Police's handling of the case, with some MPs from the all-party parliamentary group for survivors of Fayed and Harrods telling the BBC that “many fear that his enablers will never be brought to justice.” One survivor, who uses the pseudonym Justine and worked at Harrods in the 1990s when she was 22, said her experience “followed a now familiar pattern of selection, isolation, grooming, manipulation, coercion, transportation, abuse, intimidation, and then surveillance and threat. It was horrific.” The call for a trafficking investigation comes after months of pressure on the police to broaden their inquiry, and underscores the complexity of holding powerful figures to account even after their death.
Q: How many allegations have been made against Mohamed Al Fayed? More than 400 allegations of sexual misconduct have been made, including rape, sexual assault, human trafficking, false imprisonment, drugging, physical violence and forced abortions. Lawyers representing survivors say 421 people have come forward.
“Call for trafficking probe into Mohamed Al Fayed, who faces over 400 abuse allegations”
Q: What is Operation Cornpoppy? Operation Cornpoppy is the Metropolitan Police's investigation into allegations of abuse by Mohamed Al Fayed and potential enablers. It has so far questioned four people, but no charges have been brought. The investigation covers 155 victims who contacted the Met directly.
Q: What do survivors want from the police and NCA? Survivors from the No One Above collective want the Met to make trafficking the primary focus of their investigation, rather than looking at individual cases. They also want the National Crime Agency to set up a joint investigation team (JIT) to work with the Met and coordinate with authorities in other countries.
The next steps depend on whether the Metropolitan Police and the National Crime Agency respond to the survivors' demands. The Met has said it is “determined to bring anyone who is suspected to have played a part in Mohamed Al Fayed's offending to justice.” However, with no charges yet filed and only four people questioned 18 months after the investigation opened, the pressure is on for a wider probe that could involve international cooperation. The outcome may set a precedent for how historical abuse allegations against high-profile figures are handled in the UK.