Canadian fashion magnate Peter Nygard has officially stepped down from his role as the head of long-running women's clothing brand Nygard International.

Nygard, who started his successful eponymous brand out of Winnipeg in 1967 after immigrating to the country from Finland, has been making headlines this month after news broke that a group of women had launched a class-action lawsuit against him claiming rape and other forms of sexual assault, sex trafficking and more between the years of 2008 and 2015.

According to plaintiffs, Nygard regularly hosted parties at his Bahamas estate during which he would drug and rape "vulnerable" girls as young as 14 after luring them in with promises of modelling opportunities and money. He would also use them to solicit more girls and women.

@TheDukeOfYork `s playboy friend Peter Nygard says he is 'cooperating' with FBI probe into sex trafficking at his Bahamas mansion as he steps down as head of fashion empire 🇬🇧🇺🇸 @KensingtonRoyal @PHarry_Meghan @DukeCambridgeUK

— Heliopan (@Heliopan1) February 26, 2020

Other executives at Nygard International were said to be complicit in the sex trafficking ring, which allegedly went on for decades and was covered up by Nygard's money and influence. Numerous Bahamian officials have also been named in the suit, and some are taking legal action in response.

Local police in the Bahamas are also now investigating the claims as Nygard is becoming known to some around the world as the Canadian Jeffrey Epstein.

Nygard has relinquished his ownership interest in his retail company, as well as his position of chairman, claiming that he does not want his legal battles to be "a distraction" to the business. The move comes after the FBI and NYPD raided the Nygard headquarters in New York City.

2010 Forbes has an interesting article on Peter Nygard
These people have been using their money to cover up their disgusting perverted liveshttps://t.co/NT8BbGcKSJ

— Pamela Wonders, whyarepeopleresistingcommonsense? (@Pamela42068602) February 26, 2020

The 77-year-old continues to deny the allegations listed in the 99-page civil suit, asserting that they are part of a long-time, extremely dramatic legal feud between him and his billionaire neighbour in the Bahamas, who the fashion mogul says has tried to destroy his life and reputation for years. 

The neighbours have in the past accused one another of things as extreme as murder, and the Supreme Court of the Bahamas at one point seized Nygard's beachfront estate over the dispute.

...in light of ties to Epstein, a convicted sex offender who posed as a recruiter for Victoria’s Secret.

Still, not a single company has been willing to commit to enforceable standards to prevent abuse of models.

How many cases will it take for companies to step up? (2/2)

— Sara Ziff (@saraziff) February 26, 2020

No criminal charges are being laid by the women involved in the legal proceedings at this time, and Nygard is apparently co-operating with officials and "welcomes the federal investigation and expects his name to be cleared," according to the National Post.

He has been accused of sexual assault multiple times in the past, and dozens more victims and hundreds of witnesses have come forward with relevant information since the suit became public.

Epstein 2.0 Tuesday’s raid came in the wake of a Feb. 13 federal lawsuit by 10 unidentified women who claim they were raped during wild sex parties at Nygard’s estate in the Bahamas.

Peter Nygard resigns as head of fashion company after NYC raid https://t.co/nwNF6Lg8Rf

— FacelessGirl17 (@FacelessGirl9) February 26, 2020

Nygard as a clothing brand currently operates 170 stores across North America, plus more than six thousand of "shop-in-shops" within department stores worldwide (though Dillard's has dropped the line in light of the allegations).

The company website describes its proprietor as "a glamorous playboy" who often has "different blondes on each arm."