Major charities will review whether to continue accepting donations from the AlFayed Charitable Foundation after sexual allegations were reported against its founder.
Cancer Research UK and World Animal Protection are two major charities in the UK that have received donations from the foundation, which was founded and largely funded by Mohamed Al Fayed and his wife.
Both charities have said they are now reviewing whether to accept any further donations from the foundation.
Al Fayed, who died last year aged 94, is currently facing allegations of rape and abuse from former employees of Harrods, which he owned from 1985 to 2010.
A BBC investigation broadcast last week heard testimony from over 20 survivors, with 13 featured in the film, including “horrifying accounts of abuse”.
No charges have been filed against Al Fayed.
Donations to big charities from the foundation
The foundation, founded by Al Fayed in 1987, was set up to help children suffering from life-threatening illnesses and/or living in poverty.
Over the years, it has extended its support to making one-time and regular donations to children’s causes and animal welfare charities.
Cancer Research UK, one of the UK’s top 10 charities in expenditure and income, received £5,000 and £14,000 in donations in 2022 and 2019 respectively from the foundation, according to the foundation’s annual reports.
A Cancer Research UK spokesperson said: “We are shocked by the allegations made against Mohammed Al Fayed.
“We have received donations from the AlFayed Charitable Foundation in the past which have been spent to fund research into cancer.
“We consider donations very carefully and accept in line with our policies and regulation in order to fund our mission to beat cancer.
“We take allegations of this nature very seriously, and will review our position regarding accepting any future donations from the AlFayed Charitable Foundation.”
Meanwhile, World Animal Protection, a UK charity that operates worldwide, received £10,000 donation from the foundation in 2021 and 2022, according to the foundation’s annual report.
Adam Stricker-Morecroft, interim UK country director at the charity, said: “World Animal Protection did not have a direct relationship with Mohamed Al Fayed.
“The donations referenced here were made from a family trust. Our relationship is with another member of the family who is an extremely passionate supporter of wildlife, to help animals such as those suffering in the Brazil wildfires.
“In light of the disturbing allegations, we will monitor the situation and our decisions will take into account Charity Commission guidance on such matters.”
Other charities no longer accepting funding
In recent years, FACE for Children in Need received £20,000 in 2022 and £55,000 in 2021 from the foundation, according to the foundation’s annual reports.
The charity’s spokesperson told Civil Society that it stopped receiving support from the foundation “several years ago” and have never been in contact with Al Fayed directly.
FOUR PAWS UK also received £2,000 donation from the foundation in 2020 and 2022. The donations from the foundation had been used to fund its animal welfare projects, the charity's spokesperson told Civil Society.
A FOUR PAWS UK spokesperson told Civil Society: “We are shocked by the disturbing allegations made against Mohammed Al Fayed and would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the victims.
“However, FOUR PAWS was a pure beneficiary of the Al Fayed Charitable Foundation and did not have a direct relationship with Mr Al Fayed.
“We take allegations of this nature very seriously and do not plan to apply for or receive funds from the Al Fayed Charitable Foundation in the future.
“We have stringent processes in place to evaluate donations and are constantly updating our guidelines to ensure that donations are screened even more thoroughly.”
Animal welfare charity Blue Cross also received donations from the foundation. A spokesperson for the animal welfare charity said: “Blue Cross has no direct relationship with Mohamed Al Fayed and the allegations attributed to Mr Al Fayed’s behaviour are appalling.
“We received a small unsolicited donation from the AlFayed Foundation in January 2023 after a family member rehomed a horse from us, and have no further plans to accept money from the Foundation.”
Harrods ‘utterly appalled’
Harrods issued a statement in response to the wave of fresh sexual allegations: “We are utterly appalled by the allegations of abuse perpetrated by Mohamed Al Fayed.
“These were the actions of an individual who was intent on abusing his power wherever he operated and we condemn them in the strongest terms.
“We also acknowledge that during this time as a business we failed our employees who were his victims and for this we sincerely apologise.
“The Harrods of today is a very different organisation to the one owned and controlled by Al Fayed between 1985 and 2010, it is one that seeks to put the welfare of our employees at the heart of everything we do.
“This is why, since new information came to light in 2023 about historic allegations of sexual abuse by Al Fayed, it has been our priority to settle claims in the quickest way possible, avoiding lengthy legal proceedings for the women involved.”
Civil Society has asked the AlFayed Charitable Foundation to comment.
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