More than 75 victims of sexual abuse by the late Egyptian-born billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed have received compensation through a settlement mechanism established by the London luxury department store Harrods, which Al-Fayed once owned. The store confirmed to the French news agency AFP that the payments were made within a single week, with nearly 200 additional claims still being processed. Victims are eligible to receive up to €460,000 each, though only those who experienced sexual abuse qualify — even as Harrods acknowledges that Al-Fayed's behaviour affected a much wider circle of people.

Harrods, one of the world's most recognisable luxury retailers, was under Al-Fayed's directorship from 1985 to 2010. A pivotal moment in the scandal came in September 2024, when BBC documentary coverage laid bare the full scale of the abuse, prompting hundreds of women to come forward with accusations of rape and assault. The store subsequently established a legal compensation framework, offering what it called its "unconditional apologies" for the abuse Al-Fayed perpetrated. "He abused his power wherever he operated. We acknowledge that victims were let down," Harrods said in a statement.

Al-Fayed, who was born in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1929 and built a vast business empire that also included the Ritz hotel in Paris and London football club Fulham, had faced accusations from former employees during his lifetime but was never prosecuted. He died in 2023. His name became internationally known in part through his son Dodi, who was in a relationship with Princess Diana at the time both were killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997.

Alongside the civil settlement, a separate accountability process is now under way concerning law enforcement. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), a watchdog body that oversees police behaviour in England and Wales, has launched an investigation into one serving officer and four former officers from London's Metropolitan Police. The probe follows complaints from four of Al-Fayed's victims, who allege that past complaints against the businessman were not taken seriously enough. Whether the officers will face disciplinary proceedings remains unclear at this stage.

The dual-track process — financial compensation for victims and scrutiny of institutional failures — reflects the broader questions the case has raised about how those with wealth and influence are able to evade accountability. With nearly 200 claims still pending, the settlement process is expected to continue for some time.