Mohamed Al Fayed suspect case file sent to prosecutors

The Metropolitan Police has submitted a case file to prosecutors concerning a suspect in his 80s as part of an investigation into alleged sexual assaults against the late Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will now consider whether to bring charges.

A spokesperson for the Met Police stated that the file relates to one suspect and concerns two indecent assaults on two women in London. The investigation, codenamed Operation Cornpoppy, was launched in November 2024 and is examining individuals who may have facilitated or enabled alleged crimes.

Scope of Investigation

Operation Cornpoppy has received direct contact from at least 156 alleged victims. In total, more than 400 allegations of sexual misconduct have been made against Mohamed Al Fayed, dating from 1977 to 2014. These allegations include sexual assault, rape, sexual exploitation, and human trafficking.

As part of the inquiry, seven individuals have been questioned under caution. These include four women aged between their 40s and 80s, and three men aged between their 60s and 80s. Al Fayed, who owned Harrods until 2010, died in 2023 at the age of 94 without facing any charges.

A spokesman for the Fayed survivor group, No One Above, has called on the Met Police to confirm it is securing evidence on all perpetrators and co-conspirators, including financial and documentary evidence related to how victims were recruited, screened, moved, harboured, and silenced.

The CPS has not provided a timescale for when a decision on charges will be made.