Experts say Qatar either missed or dismissed much of what was already known about Mohamed Al Fayed at the time of the purchase.
In 2010 the Gulf state of Qatar bought luxury department store Harrods for £1.5bn, via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority.
When a company buys another company, the process of looking to see if there are any skeletons in the cupboard is known as due diligence. In "exceptional cases" this information might scupper a deal, though she believes it is more likely the buyer would ask the seller to compensate them for any losses that might come from the alleged behaviour.
Catriona Watt, partner at Fox & Partners, says it looks as if Qatar may have known about the allegations but went ahead anyway. Lazard, which represented the Al Fayed Trust during the deal, told the BBC: "We strongly condemn the behaviour these reports have brought to light."
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