Overview
- French investigators searched the Ritz Paris, Villa Windsor and the Villa Sainte‑Thérèse in mid‑October and seized phones, computers and other digital material now undergoing forensic analysis.
- Metropolitan Police officers travelled to France and were present during the October operations as part of coordinated work with Paris prosecutors.
- Several people were temporarily detained for questioning during the raids and were released pending further inquiries while investigators examine the seized evidence.
- The inquiries build on a 2025 preliminary probe into aggravated human trafficking, procuring and rape and come after hundreds of complainants have come forward to UK and French authorities.
- Survivors and their lawyers describe the allegations as evidence of an organised system that used the Fayeds’ businesses and properties to recruit and move women, and campaigners have urged wider cross‑border action and scrutiny of the Met’s earlier handling of reports.