Naomi Campbell banned from being charity trustee over mismanaged funds
Naomi Campbell has been banned from being a charity trustee for five years after a watchdog found serious mismanagement at the charity she founded.
The British supermodel, 54, was one of three trustees disqualified by the Charity Commission over mismanaged funds at Fashion for Relief, which she founded in 2005 to merge fashion and philanthropy.
An investigation by the watchdog found the charity passed on only a small fraction of the millions it raised from star-studded events to good causes.
On its website, Fashion for Relief claims to have raised more than $15 million (£11 million) for causes around the world, helping those impacted by Ebola, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Hurricane Katrina and the conflict in Syria.
However, the inquiry found that charity funds were used to pay for the supermodel’s spa treatments, personal security, room service, cigarettes and hotel stays at five-star institutions in Cannes, France.
The commission uncovered that, over a six-year period from April 2016 to July 2022, just 8.5 per cent of the charity’s overall expenditure was on charitable grants.
Most of the charity’s fundraising was by ticketed fashion shows and galas with fundraising auctions. Attendees included household names such as Pierce Brosnan, Justin Bieber and Uma Thurman.
Models and performers have walked the catwalk at events for Fashion for Relief, including Kate Moss, Beyoncé, Cilla Black, the Duchess of York, and her daughter, Princess Beatrice.
The website says Fashion for Relief is dedicated to “improving the lives of those living in adversity, by uniting the fashion industry as a force for good”.
Alongside Campbell, Bianka Hellmich was disqualified as a trustee for nine years, and Veronica Chou for four years. The watchdog said that unauthorised payments running into hundreds of thousands were made to Ms Hellmich.
It comes after the charity was dissolved and removed from the register of charities in the UK earlier this year.
Announcing the results of an investigation it began in 2021, the watchdog said it had recovered £344,000 and protected £98,000 of charitable funds.
The commission said it found no evidence that Fashion for Relief’s trustees took action to ensure that the money the charity spent was reasonable relative to its income.
The expenditure discovered to be misconduct or mismanagement by the trustees included €9,400 (£7,800) for a three-night stay in a five-star hotel for Campbell, as well as €7,940 (£6,600) spent alongside the stay on spa treatments, room service and the purchase of hotel products and cigarettes.
The regulator said that the trustees failed to show how these were “an appropriate use of the charity’s resources”.
The disqualifications mean the three women are prevented from being a trustee or holding a senior role in any charity in England and Wales for five years.
Speaking to reporters in Paris on Thursday evening after receiving a cultural award, Campbell said: “I just found out today about the findings and I am extremely concerned. We are investigating on our side as I was not in control of my charity.
“I put the control in the hands of a legal employer and so we are investigating... everything I do, and every penny I’ve ever raised goes towards charities.”
