LONDON - Dozens of women from across the world have accused late Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed of sexual assault, lawyers said Friday, likening the allegations to those against fallen figures like Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
At least 37 women from Australia and Malaysia, to Italy, Romania, the United States and Canada have so far come forward to allege abuse by the Egyptian billionaire, who died last year aged 94.
One was just 16 when she was allegedly assaulted.
More women are expected to contact lawyers as a result of publicity surrounding a BBC investigation into the claims, including five who said they were raped.
Lawyers representing some of the women said they were victims of "systematic abuse" over 25 years "within the knowledge of Harrods", which Al-Fayed sold in 2010.
The new owners of the upmarket London department store said they were "utterly appalled" by the allegations.
But lawyer Dean Armstrong said there was an "abject failure of corporate responsibility and a failure to provide a safe system at work".
Fayed is accused of sexually assaulting, raping and attempting to rape multiple young women -- including minors -- hired as his secretaries and personal assistants at the west London store.
"He was a monster enabled by the system," Armstrong told a news conference.
The assaults allegedly took place in his apartments in London and at his properties in Paris, including the Ritz hotel, which he also owned.
Armstrong said the current claims were focused on Harrods because of "collective corporate responsibility" and "vicarious liability", with the evidence showing that "clearly there was a pattern beyond peradventure".
- 'Pattern of events' -
Allegations include a repeated pattern of women who underwent a selection process for positions close to the chairman.
Once selected, they were subjected to an "invasive" gynaecological examination, the results of which were "rarely" shared with the women, but were shared with Fayed, according to lawyer Maria Mulla.
One of the survivors, Natacha, said she was a 19-year-old employee when she was "subjected to an unnecessary and intrusive medical examination" and tested for sexually transmitted diseases.
"I was subjected to AIDS and STD testing without consent, and now believe in hindsight, I was checked for my purity," she added.
Natacha, who did not give her last name, called Fayed a "highly manipulative" employer whose abuse included "forced kisses" and instances of sexual assault.
Women who tried to complain about their abuse were threatened by security heads, demoted and targeted by false allegations until they had "no choice" but to leave Harrods.
Many of the women shared their story, according to the BBC, after disagreeing with Fayed's portrayal in the Netflix drama "The Crown", which dramatises his friendship with Princess Diana, who died in a car crash with Fayed's son Dodi in 1997.
- Global claim -
The claims have not yet been issued, lawyers said, adding that they would welcome it if Harrods decided to "compensate the women financially", but that the case was about "much more" than money.
Lawyer Bruce Drummond said the scope of the allegations was "vast". One of three Canadian accusers said she was just 16 when she was allegedly assaulted, and six were Americans.
Some of the alleged assaults took place overseas, including in Saint Tropez and Abu Dhabi. Some of the women were employed by the Ritz in Paris, said Mulla.
Fayed sold the Knightsbridge store to the investment arm of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund for a reported £1.5 billion ($2.2 billion).
He also owned Fulham Football Club, where the lawyers were also "aware" of claims of sexual abuse.
Fayed had previously been accused of sexually assaulting and groping multiple women but a 2015 police investigation into a rape allegation did not lead to any charges.
"Underneath the glitz and glamour", there was "a toxic, unsafe and abusive environment", said Gloria Allred, an American lawyer on the case who has represented victims of convicted sex offenders like Jeffrey Epstein.
She called Fayed the "epitome of a serial sexual abuser".
Armstrong likened Fayed to Epstein "because there was a procurement system in place to source the women and girls for abuse", and Weinstein because he was "at the top of the organisation".
He also said there were similarities to the paedophile BBC children's television presenter Jimmy Savile, because "the institution, we say, knew about the behaviour".
By Akshata Kapoor