Supermodel Naomi Campbell has been banned from serving as a charity trustee for five years after a Charity Commission investigation revealed extensive financial misconduct at Fashion For Relief, a poverty relief charity she had led for over a decade.
The inquiry found that Fashion For Relief had directed only a small portion of the millions raised through star-studded fashion events to its intended causes. Instead, the charity spent lavishly on luxury hotel stays, spa treatments, personal security, and cigarettes for Campbell, according to the commission’s findings.
Unauthorized payments amounting to hundreds of thousands of pounds were also made to one of Campbell’s fellow trustees, Bianka Hellmich, who received £290,000 in consultancy fees and expenses over two years. As a result, Hellmich has been banned from serving as a trustee for nine years. A third trustee, Veronica Chou, received a four-year ban.
The inquiry revealed chaotic financial practices and poor record-keeping throughout the charity’s operations, leading to its eventual closure in March. Following the investigation, nearly £350,000 was recovered from Fashion For Relief and redirected to Save the Children and the Mayor’s Fund for London, both of which had previously raised concerns about the charity’s fundraising partnerships.
Tim Hopkins, the Charity Commission’s assistant director for specialist investigations and standards, said, “Trustees are legally required to make decisions that are in their charity’s best interests and to comply with their legal duties and responsibilities. Our inquiry has found that the trustees of this charity failed to do so, which has resulted in our action to disqualify them.”
Hopkins also expressed satisfaction with the recovery of charitable funds. “This inquiry, and the work of the interim managers we appointed to run the charity in place of the trustees, has resulted in the recovery of £344,000 and protection of a further £98,000 charitable funds. I am pleased that the inquiry has seen donations made to other charities which this charity has previously supported,” said Hopkins.
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