After a watchdog investigation revealed evidence of financial misconduct at a charity she created, Naomi Campbell has been barred from serving as a trustee.
An investigation by the Charity Commission revealed “serious mismanagement” at Campbell’s charity, Fashion for Relief, which hosted high-profile events to generate funds for alleviating poverty. Earlier this year, it was dissolved as a firm and taken off the charity registration.
It had been recorded that tens of thousands of pounds were spent on personal security, spa services, luxurious hotel rooms, and smokes. Unauthorized payments of hundreds of thousands of pounds were made to two of her fellow trustees, who have also been banned.
Veronica Chou and Bianka Hellmich have been disqualified for four and nine years, respectively. Over a two-year period, Hellmich is alleged to have received unauthorized consultancy and expense payments totaling £290,000 (21.7 million pesos).
According to the investigation, charitable gifts accounted for a very small percentage (8.5%) of the charity’s total expenditures between April 2016 and July 2022.
Since then, the Commision has safeguarded an additional £98,000 (7.3 million pesos) in charitable funds and recovered nearly £344,000 (25.7 million pesos). The Mayor’s Fund for London and the Save the Children Fund have both received donations of the recovered funds.
The two’s complaints had first raised questions and prompted a more thorough investigation of the charity’s procedures. The investigation also discovered that Fashion for Relief and the two organizations had mishandled their partnerships.
The supermodel told Associated Press that she was “extremely concerned” by the findings of the regulator and that an investigation on her part was underway.
“I was not in control of my charity, I put the control in the hands of a legal employer,” she stated. “We are investigating to find out what and how, and everything I do and every penny I ever raised goes to charity.”
In 2005, Campbell established Fashion for Relief, with fundraising events hosted in major global fashion hubs such as New York and London.
Tim Hopkins, the deputy director for special investigations and standards at the Commission stated that, “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,” he added.
Fashion for Relief had been taken off the list of charitable organizations on March 15, 2024.
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