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Louise Thomas
Editor
Naomi Campbell has been banned from being a charity trustee for five years, after a watchdog investigation found evidence of financial misconduct at a charity she founded.
A Charity Commission enquiry found there was “serious mismanagement” at Fashion For Relief, an organisation founded by Campbell, that held star-studded events to raise money for poverty relief. It was dissolved as a company and removed from the charities register earlier this year.
Tens of thousands of pounds were spent on luxury hotel rooms, spa treatments, cigarettes and personal security for the 54-year-old supermodel. Two of her fellow trustees have also been banned, with unauthorised payments totalling hundreds of thousands of pounds being made to one of them.
Bianka Hellmich and Veronica Chou have been disqualified for nine and four years respectively. Hellmich is said to have received £290,000 in unauthorised consultancy and expenses payments over a two-year period.
The investigation found that between April 2016 and July 2022, only a tiny proportion (8.5 per cent) of the charity’s overall expenditure was on charitable grants.
The Commission has since recovered over £344,000 and protected a further £98,000 of charitable funds. The recovered funds have been donated to the Save the Children Fund and the Mayor’s Fund for London.
Complaints made by the two had initially sparked suspicions and led to a deeper look into the charity’s practices. The inquiry also found that partnerships between Fashion for Relief and the two organisations had been mismanaged.
Campbell founded Fashion For Relief in 2005, and fundraising shows were held in fashion capitals across the world including London and New York. The Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson and stars including Girls Aloud singer Nicola Roberts and Britain’s Got Talent judge Alesha Dixon were involved in events.
“Trustees are legally required to make decisions that are in their charity’s best interests and to comply with their legal duties and responsibilities,” said Tim Hopkins, deputy director for special investigations and standards at the Commission.
“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.”
The Independent has contacted representatives for Campbell for comment.
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