Four Al Fayed survivors told they were trafficking victims

By the Editorial Team · Monday, August 3, 2026

Four women accusing the late Mohamed Al Fayed of abuse have been officially designated as human trafficking victims by the UK interior ministry. This recognition bolsters ongoing investigations into a wider network of alleged exploitation linked to Al Fayed’s businesses, with numerous survivors and suspects under scrutiny but no arrests yet.

Four women who have accused the late Mohamed Al Fayed, former owner of Harrods, of abuse have been officially recognized as victims of human trafficking by the United Kingdom’s interior ministry, representatives of the survivors confirmed Monday.

Al Fayed, a prominent business figure who died in 2023 without facing prosecution, faced numerous allegations over a period spanning more than 30 years. Dozens of women have accused him of assault, rape, and human trafficking, with many having worked either on the Harrods shop floor or as assistants in his other enterprises, including the Ritz hotel in Paris.

The four women—known by the pseudonyms Isabella, Justine, Elizabeth, and Margo—formed the advocacy group No One Above and have now received "conclusive grounds" decisions affirming their status as trafficking victims. Their cases, which date from the 1990s through the 2010s, encompass both international and domestic human trafficking, according to emails from Isabella. These referrals to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), the UK’s official system for identifying and supporting victims of trafficking and modern slavery, were made by the charity Unseen UK, with the determinations provided between May and July of this year.

Earlier this year, a fifth woman, Rachael Louw, was also confirmed as a trafficking victim after alleging abuse by Al Fayed and his brother Salah in the UK and France.

Isabella, who worked in Al Fayed’s Harrods office in 2001, said she was formally recognized as a trafficking victim in May. She highlighted that the public often views Al Fayed as acting alone, but argued that the organization’s systems at Harrods played a role in trafficking and silencing the women involved.

To date, 157 individuals have come forward with claims of sexual assault, rape, or trafficking linked to Al Fayed, reporting their allegations to London’s Metropolitan Police. Additionally, many other former employees have filed compensation claims through a redress scheme established following a 2024 documentary that exposed the extent of the accusations.

The Metropolitan Police have questioned six individuals suspected of facilitating Al Fayed’s alleged crimes, including inquiries related to human trafficking for sexual exploitation. However, no arrests have been made so far in connection with the investigations.

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