Mohamed Fayed’s daughter has been cleared of ordering her bodyguards to steal her brother’s phone.
Camilla Fayed, 39, was charged with a single count of robbery after allegedly stealing her brother Omar’s £1,900 iPhone in the gym of the family’s Grade I-listed estate, near Oxted in Surrey.
Her husband, Mohamad Esreb, 43, was also accused of a single count of robbery in relation to the alleged incident, along with the couple’s close protection officers, Matthew Littlewood, 34, and Andrew Bott, 52.
All defendants had pleaded not guilty.
Camilla Fayed previously pleaded not guilty to the single charge of robbery – Steve Reigate
The Crown Prosecution Service, at a hearing at Guildford Crown Court on Wednesday, confirmed that they are not pursuing the prosecution because of conflicting evidence.
Eloise Marshall KC told the court that the “decision was made due to a combination of factors” including “material provided by the complainant [Omar Fayed]”.
‘They are discharged from court’
Judge Patricia Lees, Honorary Recorder of Guildford, said: “In those circumstances the court will enter not guilty verdicts in respect of each defendant.
“As far as they are concerned, they are discharged from court.”
Ms Fayed did not attend the 15-minute-long hearing. Mr Littlewood, Mr Bott and Mr Esreb appeared via video link.
Andrew Bott, 52, was employed as a close protection officer to Camilla Fayed and Mohamad Esreb – Steve Reigate
All four had been charged in February with a single count of robbery following a long police investigation.
The incident was said to have taken place at Barrow Green Court on May 18, 2020.
Mohamed Fayed – the former Harrods and Fulham FC boss whose son Dodi was killed in a car crash alongside Diana, Princess of Wales – died at the age of 94 in August last year.
His daughter, after abandoning a career as a fashion entrepreneur by selling her label, Issa, to House of Fraser in 2017, opened Farmacy, an upmarket vegan restaurant in Notting Hill.
Despite counting Madonna and Stella McCartney among its patrons it closed in July this year.
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