A woman has told the BBC she was subjected to a "sickening" sexual assault by former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed after being invited to his London flat for a work meeting. The woman, who the BBC is calling Melanie, believes police were close to arresting him over her allegations just days before he died in August 2023.

Mr. Al-Fayed sold Harrods in 2010 to Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund for £1.5 billion, or $2.7-billion. In a statement this week the owners said they were appalled by the allegations and vowed to settle claims against the company “in the quickest way possible.” But they also insisted that they only learned about the scope of the abuse last year.

There are three Canadians among the women who say they were sexually abused by Mohamed Al-Fayed, the late owner of Harrods, while serving as employees at the luxury department store in London, CBC News has learned.