Naomi Campbell has been banned from acting as a charity trustee for five years after the Charity Commission discovered serious financial mismanagement at Fashion for Relief, a charity she established. The investigation revealed that charity funds were used to pay for Campbell’s stay at a luxurious hotel in Cannes, France, which was deemed unreasonable by the regulator. Campbell is one of three trustees of the charity to be disqualified as a result of the probe.
Fashion for Relief was set up by Campbell in 2005 with the goal of bringing together the fashion industry to support charitable causes related to poverty, health, and education. The charity made grants to other organisations and provided resources for global disasters. However, earlier this year, the charity was dissolved and removed from the register of charities. The regulator reported that £344,000 has been recovered, and an additional £98,000 of charitable funds were safeguarded.
During the inquiry conducted by the Charity Commission, it was found that between April 2016 and July 2022, only 8.5% of the charity’s total expenditure was allocated to charitable grants. Additionally, some fundraising expenses were classified as misconduct or mismanagement by the charity’s trustees. For instance, a 14,800 euro flight from London to Nice in 2018 for transferring art and jewellery, as well as spending 9,400 euros on a three-night stay at a five-star hotel in Cannes for Campbell, were highlighted as questionable uses of charitable resources.
The Charity Commission stated that the trustees failed to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness and appropriateness of these expenditures. As a result, Bianka Hellmich has been disqualified as a trustee for nine years, Veronica Chou for four years, and Naomi Campbell for five years in connection with the mismanagement. This development has raised concerns about transparency and accountability in charitable organisations, as well as the importance of trustees upholding the values and mission of the charities they serve.