Naomi Campbell was banned from serving as a trustee for charitable organizations for five years following an investigation by Britain's Charity Commission on Thursday, September 26. Their findings revealed financial misconduct within her organization, Fashion for Relief, which was established in January 2015 to raise funds for poverty and humanitarian causes.
Reportedly, Naomi Campbell's establishment only spent 8.5% of its income on charity between 2016 and 2022. The commission also reported lavish spending, such as thousands of pounds on luxury accommodations, personal security, spa treatments, and cigarettes. As such, Fashion for Relief was dissolved as a company and consequently removed from the charities register earlier this year.
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Naomi Campbell, Bianka Hellmich, and Veronica Chou banned as trustees from Fashion for Relief
Following a watchdog investigation, it was also uncovered that Naomi Campbell had unauthorized payments diverted to one of her fellow trustees, Bianca Hellmich. As reported by the Guardian, Fashion for Relief accumulated about £4.8m from fashion shows, but only £389,000 made its way to the partner charities.
As per the charity's constitution, its objectives were to aid in "the advancement of health or the saving of lives, including without limitation, the reduction of maternal and new-born mortality rates in the developing and developed world" and "the prevention or relief of poverty, sickness and distress of persons affected by natural or other kinds of disasters in any part of the world."
As per a statement released by the commission:
"The inquiry saw no evidence that trustees had reviewed the charity’s operating model to ensure fundraising methods were in the charity’s best interest and costs were reasonable relative to income generated. It also found some of the charity’s fundraising expenditure was not reasonable."
The statement continued, noting that Bianka Hellmich and Veronica Chou, the other two trustees, had been disqualified from trusteeship for nine and four years respectively.
"The inquiry also found that unauthorised payments totalling £290,000 for consultancy services had been made to a trustee, Bianka Hellmich, which was in breach of the charity’s constitution. Whilst Ms Hellmich had proactively proposed repaying these funds, the Commission-appointed interim managers secured repayments to the charity."
The statement also reveals that over £344,000 has been recovered, while about £98,000 of charitable funds had been protected. The funds recovered were redirected as donations to two other charities, as well as to settle all outstanding liabilities Campbell's charity organization had left. In place of the three trustees, interim managers were appointed by the commission.
Charity Commission Deputy Director for Specialist Investigations and Standards, Tim Hopkins, 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. 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.
Naomi Campbell founded the charity organization, Fashion for Relief, back in 2005. She held various fundraising shows in fashion capitals globally, such as New York and London, to direct money to the Save the Children Fund and the Mayor’s Fund for London. Several A-listers have been involved in such events, such as the Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson, singer Nicola Roberts, and Alesha Dixon.
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