Ritz among Paris landmarks searched in Al-Fayed trafficking probe: prosecutors

PARIS: French police have searched two Paris properties linked to Mohamed Al-Fayed, the Ritz hotel and Villa Windsor, as part of an investigation into a suspected international network that allegedly trafficked women for the late billionaire, the Paris prosecutor’s office told AFP Tuesday.

The operations in mid-October 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 said individuals had been held for questioning in the investigation and authorities were analizing 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.