111 women have accused Mohamed Al Fayed of abuse, the youngest was caught at just 13 years old, and police are investigating more than five people accused of wrongdoing by the Harrods boss.
The police have identified 90 other alleged victims who have come forward with the charges against the billionaire, who died last year at the age of 94, bringing the number of accused to 111.
The cases range from rape to rape and span 37 years, from 1977 to 2014.
A victim advocate appointed by Harrods said the scale of the abuse could be on the same scale as Jimmy Savile.
The Metropolitan Police have confirmed more than 150 people have been contacted after they launched a new appeal for information following BBC revelations about a businessman whose son Dodi died in a car crash with Princess Diana.
The Complex Investigation Team (CIT), a dedicated unit within the Met, has also launched investigations into several people linked to Fayed. Detectives are working to determine what roles those people may have played in aiding and abetting Fayed’s crime.
Allegations made to the police about Fayed spanned 37 years, from 1977 to 2014 (Reuters)
The force is re-examining its previous investigations to identify any missed opportunities to stop the late entrepreneur. The results of the internal review are due to be released next month.
Up to 21 women contacted the Met with various allegations of abuse before his death, but he was never charged or tried after the Crown Prosecution Service twice refused to press charges.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct is investigating two women’s complaints about the Met’s handling of its investigation into their 2008 complaints against an Egyptian dictator.
Although he has never faced charges, many women have launched legal cases against Harrods alleging harassment. The Knightsbridge retailer launched an internal investigation last year to see if anyone involved in the crime still works there, but it is unclear when this will be completed.
The Met insists its investigation into the businessman was “extensive and carried out by specialist teams who sought charging decisions from the CPS twice”.
However, the military admitted that “cooperation and support for other victims at that time could have been improved”.
“Although these issues have existed for more than 10 years and we cannot change what happened in the past, we are committed to understanding, being transparent about any mistakes and improving our response to survivors going forward,” the military said in a statement on Wednesday.
Director Stephen Clayman said police are pursuing any suspects in Fayed’s (PA) crime.
Commander Stephen Clayman, of the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, added: “I recognize the courage of every survivor who has come forward to share their experiences, often after years of silence.
“This investigation is giving survivors a voice, even though Mohamed al-Fayed is no longer alive to face trial. However, we are now pursuing anyone suspected of being involved in his wrongdoing, and we are committed to seeking justice.
“We recognize that past events may have undermined public trust in our approach, and we are determined to rebuild that trust by addressing these allegations honestly and thoroughly.”
Speaking to reporters, Mr. Clayman said the investigation will look at how people “could have facilitated or enabled him to offend, and what opportunities they had to protect victims from his horrific abuse.”
Dame Jasvinder Sanghera has been appointed by Harrods as an independent agent to address the interests of the defrauded billionaire.
Speaking to the BBC, Dame Jasvinder said she saw evidence that Fayed “went too far” when discussing the extent of the abuse.
“We could be talking about something on the scale of Jimmy Savile,” he said.
After Saville’s death in 2011, hundreds of survivors came forward with stories of abuse by the DJ and TV presenter, who used his work at the BBC and at hospitals, prisons and charities to hide his wrongdoing.
And Dame Jasvinder believes Fayed’s abuse went further than the department store.
He said: “If you look at the scale of the abuse, this did not just happen in Harrods. I am already hearing from survivors who are saying that this happened in other places.”
He said he was told by a former pupil at the school for the deaf that Fayed was “getting vulnerable young women from this school”.
He said: “What we do know is that there are a lot of people – and survivors have already said this to me – that was nonsense. [in Fayed’s abuse].
“They looked the other way. This would not have happened without people knowing about it, and he used his position of power and influence.”
The school told the BBC that as far as they know Fayed has no chance of attending the school, and it takes a lot of care.