Ritz among Paris sites searched over alleged trafficking network linked to late billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed

Résumé détaillé

French police have searched two Paris properties linked to Mohamed Al-Fayed, the Ritz and Villa Windsor, as part of an investigation into an ...

PARIS (France), Nov 11 — French police have searched two Paris properties linked to Mohamed Al-Fayed, the Ritz and Villa Windsor, as part of an investigation into an alleged international network trafficking women for the late billionaire, prosecutors told AFP today.

The operations in mid-October at the swanky hotel and the onetime residence of the former king of England represent a development in a probe launched in 2025 to track down accomplices of Fayed and his brother, Salah Al-Fayed.

The Paris prosecutor’s office told AFP individuals had been held for questioning in the investigation and authorities were analysing computers, phones and other digital media.

Along with the searches and evidence-gathering operations at the emblematic Paris addresses, authorities also investigated Mohamed Al-Fayed’s former property on the French Riviera, the Castel Sainte-Therese in Saint-Tropez.

The Egyptian-born tycoon, who died aged 94 in 2023 with no charges brought against him despite multiple complaints, owned the Ritz as well as the London luxury department store Harrods and the Fulham football club.

He had lived at the Villa Windsor, the well-known former British royal residence in the Bois de Boulogne in western Paris that the Al-Fayed family had made their favourite holiday home in the French capital.

The Paris prosecutor’s office in the summer of 2025 opened an investigation into claims of aggravated human trafficking, procuring prostitutes and rape in a bid to shed light on the alleged network and track down accomplices.

The alleged trafficking ring is believed to have extended into France, particularly at the Ritz and on the French Riviera.

France’s anti-human trafficking unit has interviewed at least five complainants as part of the investigation.

Début de l'article, extrait de Malay Mail. Pour lire la suite, ouvrez l'article chez le média.