LONDON -- The managing director of Harrods said Thursday that the London department store is “deeply sorry” for failing employees who say they were sexually assaulted by late owner Mohamed Al Fayed.

Michael Ward asserted that it is evident Al Fayed “fostered a toxic environment characterized by secrecy, intimidation, fear of retaliation, and sexual misconduct.”

Five women have disclosed to the BBC that they were raped by Al Fayed, who passed away last year at the age of 94, and several others allege acts of assault and physical violence. Attorneys representing the alleged victims claim to have been retained by 37 women, and the number is continuing to rise.

Ward stated he was “not aware of his (Al Fayed's) criminal behavior and abuse” during the four years he worked for the Harrod's owner, although “rumors of his conduct were prevalent in the public sphere.”

Al Fayed held ownership of Harrods for a quarter-century before selling it in 2010 to a company owned by the state of Qatar through its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority .

“We failed our colleagues, and for that, we deeply regret it,” Ward stated in a statement. He mentioned that Harrods had established a “settlement process” for Al Fayed's victims.

“This was a regrettable period in the company's history,” the statement declared. “However, the Harrods of today is vastly different from the Harrods under his ownership.”

London's Metropolitan Police stated that they received allegations in the past and questioned Al Fayed in 2008 concerning alleged sexual abuse of a 15-year-old. However, prosecutors at the time declined to pursue these cases.

Al Fayed’s family has not commented.

Born in Egypt, businessman Al Fayed immigrated to Britain in the 1960s and acquired Harrods, a prestigious retail establishment located in London's upscale Knightsbridge district, in the mid-1980s.

He gained notoriety through his ownership of the store and the London soccer team Fulham. He was frequently in the news following the death of his son, Dodi, and Princess Diana in a car crash in Paris in 1997.

Al Fayed dedicated years to promoting the conspiracy theory that the royal family orchestrated the accident due to their disapproval of Diana's relationship with an Egyptian.

An official investigation concluded that Diana and Dodi lost their lives due to the reckless actions of their driver, a Ritz Hotel employee in Paris owned by Al Fayed, and the paparazzi pursuing the couple. Separate inquiries in the U.K. and France also confirmed the absence of any conspiracy.