Some 60 more women accuse Mohamed Al-Fayed, ex-owner of Harrod's and the Paris Ritz, of sex abuse
Some 60 women have come forward with new allegations since a BBC documentary aired last week detailing sexual assault claims against Mohamed Al-Fayed, the former owner of Harrod's department store and the Paris Ritz. A former executive assistant at the Ritz told the BBC that she plans to ask the Paris prosecutor to open an investigation.
Around 60 women have now come forward to allege they were sexually abused by former Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed, lawyers representing them said on Friday.
A BBC documentary last week aired claims by women that Fayed, who died last year aged 94, raped and sexually abused them during his ownership of the luxury department store.
The accusations make the Egyptian billionaire the latest high-profile figure to join a list of rich and powerful men, such as Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, disgraced by sexual abuse allegations.
"The response has simply been enormous," the lawyers said in a statement.
"We can confirm that we now represent 60 survivors as part of our claim, with more to come."
The legal team said that since going public following the television expose, they had been contacted by people from all over the world.
"Our claim is becoming increasingly global in scope... We expected that anywhere Mohamed Al-Fayed went, abuse would follow," the statement read.
"Sadly this has proven to be true.
(AFP)
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