French authorities said suspects were released from custody after interviews so seized digital material could be analyzed, following searches at three properties on 13–14 October 2026.
French police made arrests after searching the Ritz hotel in Paris, Villa Windsor in Paris and Villa Sainte-Thérèse in Saint-Tropez, according to a Metropolitan Police letter to survivors described by the BBC. The BBC said these were the first arrests in the investigation into alleged abuse and trafficking by Mohamed Al Fayed.
Al Fayed, the former owner of Harrods and the Ritz Paris, is no longer alive to face prosecution. The Metropolitan Police is investigating people who may have facilitated or enabled his alleged offenses.
French authorities said several suspects were taken into custody and released after interviews specifically to allow analysis of digital material seized in the searches. Their number and identities have not been disclosed. Villa Sainte-Thérèse was formerly owned by Al Fayed.
French authorities said their investigators had interviewed several victims and were working with British authorities. The Metropolitan Police confirmed that its officers traveled to France and attended the October operation.
In an earlier update, the Metropolitan Police said it had interviewed 4 suspects under caution about possible offenses including aiding rape and sexual assault, assisting the commission of sexual offenses, and trafficking people for sexual exploitation. It said accounts from victims and witnesses and cooperation in the UK and overseas had broadened its inquiry to include human trafficking.
In a September 2024 BBC documentary and podcast, more than 20 women accused Al Fayed of sexual assault. One woman alleged he sexually assaulted her at the Ritz; another alleged he raped her at Villa Windsor. Since those allegations, more than 400 alleged victims or witnesses have approached lawyers.
The Oversight Committee concludes that prosecutorial failures, preferential treatment and institutional negligence allowed Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell to sexually exploit young women and girls for years.
The Justice for Fayed and Harrods Survivors group welcomed the developments and cooperation between the police forces. It called for all properties owned by Al Fayed to be investigated and said it hoped those who facilitated or concealed his alleged offenses would be identified and held accountable.
Survivor advocacy group No One Above praised the French operation, saying France was treating the case as organized human trafficking led by specialists, criticized the Metropolitan Police response and called for the National Crime Agency to take over the British investigation.
French authorities said the investigation continues under the direction of the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office, with the seized digital material to be analyzed.
3 min
The Congressional Budget Office estimates the federal shortfall was $125 billion larger than a year earlier, as fiscal 2027 opened with lower revenue and higher spending.
1 min
Companies pledge shutdown mechanisms for models they control as part of a political commitment adopted at a 9 November 2026 meeting with France’s president. The declaration sets no deadlines or sanctions.
2 min
