The call follows a letter from law firm Leigh Day to the Metropolitan Police, representing at least 15 women seeking clarity on whether the investigation is being treated as a trafficking case….reports Asian Lite News
The investigation into allegations of rape and sexual abuse against the late former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed should be expanded to include potential human trafficking offences, a former senior Metropolitan Police officer has said, according to the BBC.
The call comes as law firm Leigh Day has written to the Metropolitan Police on behalf of at least 15 women seeking clarification on whether the ongoing investigation is being considered as a trafficking case. Lawyers representing the women argue that the current probe, known as Operation Cornpoppy, may be too narrow in scope.
Operation Cornpoppy is examining the role of individuals who may have facilitated or enabled Al Fayed’s alleged sexual abuse. However, the lawyers claim the inquiry does not fully use all available investigative powers because it is not formally being treated as a trafficking investigation. According to the BBC, they believe this could reduce the chances of identifying and prosecuting those who may have helped enable or facilitate the alleged offences.
Phil Brewer, the former head of the Metropolitan Police’s anti-trafficking unit, told the BBC he was surprised the investigation was not already being handled under trafficking laws. He said that, based on the allegations reported so far, the case could fall within the scope of trafficking offences.
Under the UK’s Modern Slavery Act, human trafficking is defined as arranging or facilitating the movement of another person within a country or across borders for the purpose of exploitation. The law came into force in 2015, although trafficking offences existed in earlier legislation and can still be prosecuted under those provisions.
The Metropolitan Police has previously said it is investigating more than five individuals who may have played a role in facilitating Al Fayed’s alleged abuse of women and girls.
According to the BBC, the force said last August that 146 people had come forward to report crimes as part of the investigation, which is examining allegations spanning several decades.
Meanwhile, French authorities have opened an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse and trafficking involving the late Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed and his brother Salah Al-Fayed, according to AFP.
The probe was launched last year amid claims that the former Harrods owner operated a wide-ranging system of abuse and exploitation on French soil. Lawyers representing several women say the case involves allegations of trafficking and sexual assault connected to properties linked to Al-Fayed, including the Ritz hotel in Paris.
One of the complainants, Kristina Svensson, who previously worked as Al-Fayed’s personal assistant at the Ritz, told French police that she was repeatedly targeted during her time working for him.
“Every time I met Mohamed Al-Fayed, he tried to assault me,” Svensson said in testimony to investigators, AFP reported.
The allegations against Al-Fayed, who died in 2023 at the age of 94, gained global attention after a BBC investigation in September 2024. In that report, several women who had worked at the luxury London department store Harrods accused him of rape and sexual assault.
According to AFP, British police have said that at least 154 people have come forward claiming they were abused by the former owner of the Premier League football club Fulham. Salah Al-Fayed, who died in 2010, has also been accused in connection with some of the allegations.
Some alleged victims have expressed frustration with the Metropolitan Police investigation in the UK, which is examining claims spanning more than three decades. As a result, several have turned to the French legal system in hopes of pursuing justice.
Rachael Louw, a former employee of Mohamed Al-Fayed, said she believed the British investigation had failed to fully address the issue of trafficking.
Louw added that the French case is being handled by a specialised anti-trafficking unit, saying it was “a relief that our cases are actually being recognised as trafficking.”
