French police search Ritz and Villa Windsor, make arrests in Al Fayed probe

Searches at three properties

French police searched three properties linked to Mohamed Al-Fayed on 13 and 14 October 2026, according to the Metropolitan Police, which described the operation to victims in a confidential letter. The sites were the Hotel Ritz in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, the Villa Windsor in the 16th arrondissement and the Villa Sainte-Thérèse in Saint-Tropez, a former Al-Fayed property. Officers from the Metropolitan Police travelled to France and were present during what was understood to be a joint British and French operation. Al-Fayed, the former owner of the Ritz and Harrods, died in 2023 at the age of 94 without having been prosecuted during his lifetime, despite many complaints against him. Paris prosecutors told AFP that the searches formed part of an investigation into an alleged network that trafficked women for his benefit.

Custody and digital evidence

Several suspects were taken into police custody during the operation, according to a French statement passed on to victims by the Met. The custody measures were lifted after the suspects were interviewed. Investigators are still working through computers, phones and other digital media seized in the searches, and the Paris prosecutor's office said the investigation continues under its direction. BBC reported that these were the first arrests in the case relating to alleged abuse and trafficking by Al-Fayed. The sources do not report any charges against the people questioned.

The Paris investigation

The Paris prosecutor's office opened the investigation in summer 2025 into organised human trafficking, procuring and rape. Its aim is to establish the facts of the alleged network and to identify possible accomplices of Mohamed Al-Fayed and his brother Salah. At least five women who filed complaints have been heard by the French office specialising in combating human trafficking (OCRTEH). The French probe runs alongside British proceedings over alleged sexual abuse linked to Al-Fayed. Sources close to the case said the recent searches and custody measures were carried out within this work.

Allegations and survivors

BBC reported that more than 20 women accused Al-Fayed of sexual assault in a BBC documentary and podcast in September 2024. In that documentary, one woman said she had been sexually assaulted by him at the Ritz, and another said she had been raped by him at the Villa Windsor. Since those allegations, more than 400 alleged victims or witnesses have come forward to lawyers, the BBC reported. The Justice for Fayed and Harrods Survivors group welcomed what it called significant developments and the cooperation between the Met and French authorities. It called for every Fayed-owned property to be investigated with the same thoroughness as the properties already searched, wherever they are located.

What remains open

No source reports a timetable for the French investigation or says whether it will lead to charges. The survivors group's call for further searches is the next open question, but no source reports that additional searches have been ordered. Reports published on Tuesday, 10 November, by several outlets drew on the same prosecutor's confirmation to AFP and the Met's letter to victims.