Egyptian Owner of Harrods Declares He Won’t Be Ousted

The embattled Egyptian owner of Harrods, alleged to have bought London’s most famous department store with lies and mystery money, says he will never be ousted.

“Harrods is my pyramid. I shall stay here forever--they can bury me on the roof,” Mohamed Fayed said in an interview published in the Daily Express newspaper today.

“The dogs bark but the caravan passes on.”

British government inspectors said in a report last week that Mohamed and his brother Ali lied to regulatory authorities and shareholders about their background and wealth in their 1985 takeover of Harrods.

But police fraud investigators said there is insufficient evidence for criminal charges in the $1-billion deal.

Asked about the report’s suggestion that he was bankrolled by the Sultan of Brunei, the world’s richest man, Fayed replied: “He’s a friend of mine, but that doesn’t mean I have to put my hand in his pocket.”

Interviewer Jean Rook said trying to gain information out of Fayed on the source of his Harrods’ funding is like having a conversation with the Sphinx.

“I own the place, I paid cash, no check of mine ever bounced,” Fayed said. “I am doing good for Harrods and for tens of thousands of British employees, so who has the right to question the source of my money?”