Woman Says Salah Fayed Drugged, Assaulted Her at Highland Estate

A woman who worked at Harrods in the 1990s says she was trafficked to Scotland, drugged and sexually assaulted by Salah Fayed, brother of former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed, at the family's Balnagown estate in Easter Ross, according to an account she gave BBC Scotland News.

The woman, identified only as Jill because her name has been changed for legal reasons, said she was recruited from a Harrods job into what she believed was an executive training scheme before being flown on the Fayed family's private jet to Balnagown, where she was repeatedly assaulted, BBC Scotland News reported.

What did the woman say happened at Balnagown?

Jill told BBC Scotland she was flown to Scotland twice on the Fayed family's private jet, landing at Inverness before being driven to the estate by Fayed vehicles. Balnagown had three residences, one for each brother, and she described Salah Fayed's house as smaller than Mohamed Al Fayed's, overlooking a valley with forest behind it and isolated from the rest of the property, per the BBC account.

She said Salah Fayed began giving her illegal substances once she was assigned to work for him after initially being placed in Mohamed Al Fayed's heavily monitored office. "The first time he forced me to take the drugs he tried to trick me into taking them," she told BBC Scotland. "He had me locked in a room. He said 'you need to take this, it's good for you'. He lied about what it was and when I refused he screamed at me and forced me to take it. The drugs were part of his method of assaulting me."

"He was a very cruel man. He knew I had some vulnerabilities and he exploited them. He made me feel I was a terrible person."

Jill said Salah Fayed controlled what she ate, what she wore and who she spoke to, and that she was isolated for most of her time at the estate, according to the BBC report.

Who was Salah Fayed?

Salah Fayed was the brother of Mohamed Al Fayed, who bought Harrods in 1985, BBC Scotland News reported. The brothers each owned a residence on the Balnagown estate in the Highlands. Salah Fayed died of pancreatic cancer in 2010 and has been accused of abuse by numerous women, separate from the allegations against his brother, according to the BBC.

Jill said she was initially assigned to Mohamed Al Fayed's office, which she described as heavily monitored and staffed largely by young women with tightly controlled access. She said she thought working for Salah Fayed "might be better" because "Mohamed seemed creepy," but that her situation "deteriorated rapidly" once she began working for him, per her account to the BBC.

What is Police Scotland investigating?

Police Scotland told BBC Scotland News that three people have been identified in connection with offending against a number of victims at Balnagown and that inquiries remain ongoing. The force did not name those identified, and no further detail on charges or timing was provided in the material reviewed.

How does this fit with allegations against Mohamed Al Fayed?

Since Mohamed Al Fayed's death in 2023, hundreds of women and girls have alleged they were sexually abused by him, BBC Scotland News reported. Jill is one of hundreds of women who have alleged abuse by the Fayed brothers, according to the broadcaster. The Balnagown allegations extend the scope of the Fayed abuse claims beyond Harrods' London premises to the family's Scottish estate.

By the Numbers

• 1985 — Year Mohamed Al Fayed bought Harrods, according to BBC Scotland News.
• 3 — People identified by Police Scotland in connection with offending against victims at Balnagown.
• 2010 — Year Salah Fayed died of pancreatic cancer.
• 2023 — Year Mohamed Al Fayed died, after which hundreds of women came forward with abuse allegations.

What to Watch

• Whether Police Scotland names or charges any of the three people identified in connection with offending at Balnagown.
• Whether additional women who allege abuse by Salah Fayed come forward publicly, following Jill's account.
• Any response from representatives of the Fayed family estate or Harrods' current ownership to the specific Balnagown allegations.
• Whether Scottish prosecutors open a distinct case tied to the Highland estate, separate from existing Harrods-related inquiries in London.

The BBC reported that Jill said escaping the situation was difficult and that she only gradually found a way out, though the material reviewed did not detail the circumstances of her departure. HTT News has not independently verified the allegations beyond the reporting cited above.