Mohamed Al Fayed, the former owner of Harrods who died at 94 last year, has been accused of rape and sexual assault by a string of women who worked at the upmarket department store.
The allegations were revealed by the BBC in a documentary and podcast called Al-Fayed: Predator at Harrods.
Five women said they were raped by the Egyptian billionaire, while another 20 claimed they were sexually assaulted by him.
The women worked at Harrods in the late 1980s and 2000s, and claimed the alleged assaults were perpetrated at the company's offices, Al Fayed's London apartment, or on foreign trips. These allegedly often took place at the Ritz hotel in Paris, which Al Fayed owned.
Harrods was also accused of covering up allegations against the businessman.
“The spider’s web of corruption and abuse in this company was unbelievable and very dark," said Bruce Drummond, a barrister from a legal team representing some of the women.
Harrods current owners said they were "utterly appalled" by the allegations and insisted the company was "very different" today.
The podcast also revealed a rape allegation was investigated by police in 2015, but no charges were put against Al Fayed.
Al Fayed was featured prominently in two seasons of Netflix's Royal drama The Crown. One of the victims spoke about her anger around his portrayal as a pleasant and gregarious character.
"That makes me angry. People shouldn’t remember him like that. It’s not how he was,” she said.
Al Fayed was born in Egypt and moved to the UK in the 1970s.
He bought Harrods in 1985 and the Ritz hotel in Paris in 1979. He also owned the Premier League team Fulham between 1997 and 2013.
His son, Dodi Al Fayed, was killed in the 1997 Paris car crash that also led to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
He repeatedly claimed the crash was part of a murder plot by the British establishment. Following an inquest that took place between 2007 and 2008, a jury pinned the pair's deaths on the drunk driving of their chauffeur, Henri Paul, who was also killed.
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