Naomi Campbell, the famous supermodel, has been barred from participating in charity work in England and Wales for five years following an investigation into her charity, Fashion for Relief. The charity, which Campbell helped establish in 2005, was found to have mismanaged funds, prompting the Charity Commission to take action.
Along with Campbell, her co-trustees Bianka Hellmich and Veronica Chou were also penalized. Hellmich faces a nine-year ban, while Chou is disqualified for four years from charity involvement.
The Charity Commission’s inquiry revealed significant misappropriation of funds. Between 2016 and 2022, only 8.5% of the charity’s spending went towards charitable grants.
Furthermore, the investigation discovered that during a 2018 fundraising event in Nice, Campbell and her trustees spent substantial amounts on personal luxuries. These included nearly $20,000 on a flight, $12,500 on hotel accommodations, and over $10,000 on spa services, cigarettes, and hotel products, all charged to the charity.
When questioned about these expenditures, the trustees justified them as cost-effective choices, claiming that a donor typically covered such expenses. However, the inquiry found no evidence of these donations in the charity’s financial records.
This lack of documentation raised concerns about financial transparency and accountability within Fashion for Relief. As a result, the charity was removed from the Charity Commission’s register.
The inquiry also uncovered unauthorized payments of £290,000 ($388,000) to trustee Bianka Hellmich for consultancy services, which violated the charity’s constitution.
While Hellmich offered to repay these funds, this breach further highlighted the mismanagement within the organization. Despite these findings, Naomi Campbell expressed her concern and stated that she was not in direct control of the charity’s finances, blaming the issues on a legal employer who handled the charity’s operations.
Fashion for Relief has since been dissolved and was officially removed from the charity register in March 2023. Campbell, in response to the inquiry, pledged to investigate the situation and ensure that all funds she raises go to the intended charitable causes. However, at the time of the inquiry’s release, neither Campbell nor her fellow trustees had provided additional comments on the matter.
