Three women have been interviewed under caution as part of a police probe into former Harrods boss Mohamed al-Fayed.
The women, aged in their 40s, 50s and 60s, were quizzed over offences including human trafficking and facilitating rape, the Metropolitan Police said.
No arrests have been made at this stage, but the force said a total of 154 people have come forward so far to report allegations of rape, sexual assault, sexual exploitation and human trafficking, as part of the force’s probe into Al-Fayed.
Al-Fayed died in 2023 aged 94 and never faced charges over allegations of rape and sexual abuse.
On Friday, Commander Angela Craggs said: “Victims remain at the centre of this investigation.
“Today’s update marks an important step in a complex and far-reaching investigation.
“While al-Fayed is no longer alive to face prosecution, we have always been determined to bring anyone who is suspected to have played a part in his offending to justice.”
The force is looking at individuals surrounding the businessman who could have enabled him to commit crimes, which are claimed to have spanned decades between 1977 and 2014.
Al-Fayed was first accused of sexual abuse in the late 1980s, but the allegations did not lead to criminal charges.
In 2009, the Crown Prosecution Service, then led by Sir Keir Starmer, elected not to prosecute Al-Fayed following claims he had sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl in Harrods.
He denied all allegations against him and attended a voluntary police interview.
Claims of sexual misconduct against the billionaire businessman were the subject of pieces by Vanity Fair in 1995, ITV in 1997, Channel 4 in 2017, and the BBC in 2024.
Officers have taken accounts from Al-Fayed’s accusers and other witnesses over the past 18 months, with information from those interviews leading to the force including alleged human trafficking in its investigation, the Met added.
The three suspects were interviewed under caution between 25 February and 5 March on suspicion of aiding and abetting rape and sexual assault, assisting the commission of sexual offences and human trafficking for sexual exploitation.
