Supermodel Naomi Campbell has been disqualified as a trustee after an investigation into her charity Fashion For Relief uncovered “gross mismanagement”.
This follows revelations by the Mail On Sunday that official accounts showed she spent more than £1.6m on a glitzy Cannes gala but donated just £5,000 to good causes over a 15-month period.
The Charity Commission confirmed in April that it had struck the supermodel’s charity off the UK’s register of charities while it continued its investigation into allegations of misconduct.
And today the Commission published the report of its regulatory inquiry into Fashion For Relief, concluding that the charity was poorly governed and had inadequate financial management.
Campbell, 54, was disqualified from serving as a trustee for five years, his former colleagues Bianka Hellmich for nine years and Veronica Chou for four.
Supermodel Naomi Campbell, seen in Paris yesterday, has been disqualified as a trustee after an investigation into her charity Fashion For Relief uncovered “gross mismanagement”.
Naomi Campbell played a prominent role in the catwalk shows organised on behalf of her charity Fashion For Relief; she is seen here during London Fashion Week in September 2019.
The model founded the charity in 2005 and said she was inspired by her friend Nelson Mandela, who told her to “use her voice” to do good.
The charity said it had raised more than £11m, largely through eye-catching fundraising events held around the world, including in New York, Mumbai and Moscow.
Campbell would take centre stage at galas, appearing in spectacular designer gowns, and was honoured by the British Fashion Council for her services and achievements in the fashion industry in 2019.
But in 2021 concerns were raised about the amount of money being transferred to people in need after the Mayor of London’s Fund lodged an official complaint, saying the charity owed it £50,000.
The Mayor’s Fund, which helps young Londoners from low-income backgrounds, filed a “serious incident” report with the Charity Commission, which announced a statutory inquiry in November that year.
The commission said today that as a result of its investigation, more than £344,000 was recovered and used to make donations to two other charities and settle outstanding liabilities of Fashion For Relief.
The research found that between April 2016 and July 2022, only 8.5 per cent of the charity’s total expenditure went to charitable grants.
It also said it found that some fundraising expenditure was misconduct or mismanagement by the charity’s trustees.
This included a €14,800 (£12,300) flight from London to Nice in 2018 to transport art and jewellery.
She also discussed the decision to spend €9,400 (£7,800) of charity funds on a three-night stay at a five-star hotel in Cannes, France, for Campbell.
The supermodel, pictured on the red carpet at the Fashion for Relief show at London Fashion Week in September 2019, has been disqualified as a trustee of a charity for four years.
Naomi Campbell is seen here attending a Fashion For Relief event at the 71st Cannes Film Festival in France in May 2018.
Among those attending the Fashion For Relief event at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2018 were (from left) Maria Borges, Bella Hadid, Naomi Campbell, Winnie Harlow and Natalia Vodianova.
In these cases, the trustees “failed to demonstrate how they were profitable or an appropriate use of the charity’s resources,” the Charity Commission said.
The investigation found no evidence that the trustees had reviewed the charity’s operating model to ensure that fundraising methods were in the best interests of the organisation and that costs were reasonable in relation to the cash raised.
It also found that some of the charity’s fundraising expenses were unreasonable.
The charity had organised fundraising events for Save the Children and the Mayor’s Fund.
The investigation concluded that Fashion for Relief’s administrators “failed to manage these partnership arrangements.”
The commission also said Unauthorised payments totalling £290,000 for consultancy services had been made to trustee Ms Hellmich, in breach of the charity’s constitution.
And the charity’s funds were held and applied on its behalf by external professional advisers rather than in a dedicated bank account in the name of Fashion For Relief.
Tim Hopkins, deputy director of specialist investigations and standards at the Charity Commission, said: ‘Trustees are legally required to make decisions that are in the best interests of their charity and to comply with their legal duties and responsibilities.
‘Our investigation has found that the trustees of this charity failed to do so, leading to our action to disqualify them.
‘This investigation, and the work of the interim administrators we appointed to run the charity in place of the trustees, has resulted in the recovery of £344,000 and the protection of a further £98,000 in charitable funds.
“I am pleased that the investigation has led to donations being made to other charities that this organisation had previously supported.”
Veronica Chou (pictured left, with Naomi Campbell) has also been disqualified as a trustee.
Naomi Campbell helped launch a Fashion For Relief pop-up store at Westfield London in November 2019
The supermodel is pictured here at a Fashion For Relief event at the Doha Fire Station in the Qatari capital in November 2021.
The trustees were Ms Campbell, her key aide Ms Chou, heiress to a £2bn textile fortune, and the socialite and lawyer Ms Hellmich.
Ms Chou left the charity days after the Commission launched its investigation in 2021.
A spokesperson for the charity said in April, when the organisation was struck off the charity register: “The liquidation of Fashion For Relief was a decision taken by the trustees three years ago. It was not forcibly closed.
‘Fashion For Relief operates in the United States and will continue to carry out fundraising initiatives around the world.’
MailOnline has contacted Fashion For Relief and representatives for Naomi Campbell for comment.
