London, United Kingdom

Former Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed has again been accused of sexual abuse by another 65 women, with allegations stretching far beyond Harrods and as far back as 1977, reported BBC. 

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Earlier, around 60 women alleged they were sexually abused by Al-Fayed, who died last year. 

The accounts of those 65 women revealed new details of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape, sent to the BBC in the weeks since the documentary Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods and a podcast were broadcast.

Out of these 65 women who contacted the BBC, 37 said they had worked at Harrods.

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Also read: Mohamed Fayed made ‘disgusting proposal’ to Princess Diana which left her ‘shaking’, claims Paul Burrell

They said that Fayed used a broader range of abuse tactics and also targeted women employed outside his businesses.

BBC interviewed several of these women, and these women alleged they were recruited by Al Fayed and were lured into roles on the billionaire’s domestic staff and were then sexually exploited by him, including at his mansion in Oxted.

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One of the women said she was assaulted by Al Fayed in Dubai in 1977, eight years before his purchase of Harrods helped him become a household name in the UK, BBC reported.

She added that Fayed personally stalked her and threatened her. 

Woman who used to work at Harrods said he later carried out similar intimidation tactics through a team of security staff.

BBC contacted Harrods, and they said, "Since the airing of the documentary, so far there are 200+ individuals who are now in the Harrods process to settle claims directly with the business."

The BBC also spoke to women who were not employed and said that they were approached and assaulted by him.

One of the women alleged that she was working at a London flower shop in the early 1980s, and at that time she was spotted by one of Al Fayed's team. She was 21 and said that she was flown to the Paris Ritz for a purported job interview, where Al Fayed sexually assaulted her.

Moreover, a former BBC make-up artist also alleged she was sexually assaulted by Al Fayed when she was working on an episode of the Clothes Show in 1989. 

(With inputs from agencies)