Met Police ‘asked prosecutors to decide whether to charge Mohamed Al Fayed for just two of 21 women who accused him of rape and sexual assault while he was alive’

US police have asked prosecutors to decide whether to charge Mohamed Al Fayed in connection with just two of the 21 women who accused the former Harrods owner of sex crimes while he was alive, reports show.

Al Fayed, who died last year aged 94, was hit by an avalanche of rape and assault claims last month after at least two former Harrods employees told a BBC documentary that they had been raped or abused by the flamboyant Egyptian tycoon.

Last week the Met Police revealed they are investigating 40 new allegations against Al Fayed and others since the BBC documentary.

The 40 new charges relate to 40 alleged victims and add to those that police were aware of before the BBC investigation and documentary, Scotland Yard said.

Before the recent media coverage, 21 allegations were made against the late billionaire, resulting in the recording of crimes involving 21 separate women between 2005 and 2023.

Al Fayed, who died last year at the age of 94, was hit by an avalanche of rape and assault claims last month

Princess Diana and Mohammed Al Fayed attending a charity dinner for the Harefield Heart Unit, held at Harrods, London, February 1996

Many of the businessman’s alleged victims worked for Harrods (pictured)

The Crown Prosecution Service said it has made a charging decision based on two allegations of sexual abuse in relation to a female complainant, according to the BBC.

Six years later, in 2015, it decided on charges on one charge of rape and a charge of complicity in rape by one female suspect. These claims involved another female complainant.

This means the Met did not pass evidence to prosecutors about 19 of the 21 women who approached them before Al Fayed’s death.

The evidence files it passed on did not include complaints received from other women whose evidence could have potentially corroborated their claims.

The crimes are said to have taken place between 1979 and 2013. Four of the reports were allegations of rape, 16 related to sexual assault and one related to human trafficking, the Met said.

The Crown Prosecution Service was contacted by Scotland Yard five times between 2005 and 2023, the force said, but no further action was taken against Mr Al Fayed.

The force said that while it would not be possible to bring criminal proceedings against Mr Al Fayed – because he is no longer alive – it would ‘continue to investigate whether other individuals could be prosecuted for offences’ .

Responding to the BBC, a Scotland Yard spokesperson said: ‘We are carrying out full reviews of all existing allegations reported to us about Al Fayed to ensure no new lines of inquiry arise from new information emerging has emerged.

‘This includes liaising with the Directorate for Professional Standards where necessary.’

Al Fayed in 2005 at the unveiling of a memorial to his son Dodi and Diana, Princess of Wales

Dozens of allegations of sexual assault have been made against billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed (pictured), dating back almost half a century

Since the documentary aired, a further 65 women have since approached the broadcaster, with similar claims dating back to 1977, before he bought Harrods.

It suggests that Al Fayed’s reign of sexual terror, first reported in the 1990s but with repeated police failures to prosecute, could have been even longer and broader than feared.

While he died five years ago at the age of 83, lawyers are now acting for many victims, many more than those who spoke to the BBC, in a quest for compensation and some form of justice.

Harrods told the BBC earlier this month: ‘Since the documentary aired there have been more than 200 individuals now in the Harrods process to settle claims directly with the company.’

Of the 65 new ‘victims’ who contacted the BBC, 37 worked for Harrods.

Another 28 did not, saying he launched vicious sexual attacks on them under the guise of hiring them to join his domestic staff, simply during a vague “interview,” or even against a member of the BBC staff.

MailOnline has contacted the Met Police and the Crown Prosecution Service for comment.