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French authorities carried out searches and evidence gathering at the Ritz hotel in Paris the Villa Windsor and a former property in Saint-Tropez on October 13 and 14 according to a statement from the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office shared with victims by the Metropolitan Police. Several suspects were taken into police custody during the operation although those measures were later lifted to allow for analysis of seized digital materials a prosecutor’s office assessment found. The activity marks the first arrests in the French probe into alleged abuse and trafficking connected to the former owner of Harrods and the Ritz.
The Paris prosecutor’s office told AFP that the operations formed part of an investigation opened in summer 2025 into aggravated human trafficking pimping and rape with the aim of identifying possible accomplices of Mohamed Al Fayed and his late brother Salah. At least five complainants have been interviewed by France’s specialised anti-human trafficking unit known as OCRTEH according to multiple reports citing the prosecutor’s office. The inquiry runs in parallel with a major Metropolitan Police investigation in Britain where 168 victims have come forward since allegations first surfaced.
Properties searched included the Ritz which Al Fayed bought in 1979 and which remains in family ownership the Observer reported. Villa Sainte-Thérèse in Saint-Tropez a 30-bedroom estate he owned until 2015 and the 14-room Villa Windsor in Paris which he leased until 2018 were also targeted French authorities confirmed. No current members of the Ritz Paris staff were arrested the Observer understands though victims have alleged abuse occurred at all three locations.
Metropolitan Police officers travelled to France in October and were present during the searches but did not participate in the activity the force said in a statement. The Met has separately interviewed seven suspects under caution on suspicion of offences including aiding rape human trafficking for sexual exploitation and assisting sexual offences according to its own figures. About 70 of the accounts provided to British investigators bear hallmarks of trafficking a Metropolitan Police briefing to lawmakers indicated.
Allegations against Al Fayed who died in 2023 at age 94 first gained widespread attention through a 2024 BBC documentary in which more than 20 former Harrods employees described sexual assaults and rapes. The French investigation was triggered in part by testimony from an American woman who alleged she was trafficked from the Ritz to other sites the BBC previously reported. Al Fayed was never prosecuted during his lifetime despite numerous complaints filed in both countries.
Investigations are continuing under the direction of the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office the official statement said. “At this stage of the proceedings several victims have been interviewed by French investigators and the investigations are being conducted in liaison with the British authorities” it added. “In this context searches and evidence-gathering operations were carried out in mid-October 2026 notably within the Hotel Ritz in the 1st arrondissement of Paris as well as at the Villa Sainte-Thérèse in Saint-Tropez a former property of Mohamed Al Fayed and at the Villa Windsor in the 16th arrondissement of Paris in the presence of British investigators.”
