Mohamed Al Fayed feigned dementia in order to avoid being prosecuted for multiple sex offences, his youngest son has claimed.
The Egyptian-born tycoon, who died last year aged 94, is suspected of raping and sexually assaulting more than 100 women dating back to the 1970s.
But despite more than 20 victims making complaints to the police during his lifetime, the former Harrods owner was never brought to justice.
Scotland Yard is now conducting an urgent review to establish if there were any missed opportunities to charge Al Fayed with sex offences while he was alive.
Omar Fayed, his youngest son, 37, has claimed he successfully dodged prosecution after falsely claiming to be suffering from dementia.
He told the Mail on Sunday: “He got off the hook on the grounds he was mentally incapacitated. Afterwards it was back to business, he was as sharp as a tack.”
Omar Fayed, Mohamed Al Fayed’s youngest son, claims his father dodged prosecution by falsely claiming to be suffering from dementia – Dave M. Bennett/Getty Images Europe
One woman, who gave a statement to police in 2018, after making allegations against Al Fayed, claims she was told he was too old and not in the right state of mind to be charged because of his dementia.
In 2017 lawyers acting for the billionaire unsuccessfully tried to get a Channel 4 expose about Al Fayed dropped, arguing that he was “mentally incapacitated”.
But when Al Fayed passed away in August last year, the cause of death was given as old age with no mention of dementia.
Suggestions Al Fayed was able to evade justice by feigning ill health will further enrage his dozens of alleged victims who have accused the police and prosecutors of letting them down.
Following a recent documentary about Al Fayed’s abuse more than 90 new complainants have come forward to allege the former Harrods owner attacked them.
No charges brought
Scotland Yard has confirmed that Al Fayed’s alleged offending spanned more than 30 years with the first offence reported to have taken place in 1977 and the most recent in 2014.
The youngest victim who has come forward was just 15, but there have been reports that the billionaire even sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl at his Harrods store.
The majority of the crimes are understood to have taken place in London, but there have also been reports of offending in Surrey, where he lived, and France, where he also owned homes.
In 2008 and 2015 files of evidence were passed to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) but on both occasions it was deemed they did not pass the legal threshold and no charges were brought.
In 2018, 2021 and 2023, Scotland Yard asked prosecutors for early advice but on all three occasions the investigations were dropped.
‘What could have been done’
While Al Fayed died before he could ever be charged, police are investigating at least five of his associates amid allegations they may have enabled or facilitated the abuse.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police refused to comment on the speculation that Al Fayed’s mental state may have played a part in the decision not to charge him.
But in a statement the Met said: “No criminal charges were brought against Al Fayed while he was alive and we recognise the impact this has had on many victims.
“From the review so far it is apparent that past investigations were extensive and conducted by specialist teams who sought charging decisions from the CPS on two occasions.
“However we know that contact with and support for some victims at the time could have been improved. Only after completing this comprehensive review will we fully understand what could have been done differently.”
The Crown Prosecution Service has been contacted for comment.