- Fashion for Relief spent £1.6m on the Cannes gala and just £5,000 on good causes
Naomi Campbell’s high-profile Fashion For Relief charity has been closed amid the charity’s watchdog’s investigation into allegations of financial mismanagement, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
The Charity Commission confirmed last night that it had removed the supermodel’s charity from the UK’s charity register as it continued its investigation into allegations of misconduct.
This follows revelations by this newspaper that official accounts showed that over a 15-month period he spent more than £1.6m on a glittering gala in Cannes, but donated just £5,000 to good causes.
The watchdog said it was still carrying out an investigation into Fashion For Relief, which Campbell founded in 2005, saying he had been inspired by his friend Nelson Mandela telling him to “use (his) voice” for good.
The charity claimed to have raised more than £11 million, mainly through splashy fundraising events held around the world, including New York, Mumbai and Moscow.
Naomi Campbell’s high-profile Fashion For Relief charity has been closed amid the charity’s watchdog investigation into allegations of financial mismanagement, The Mail on Sunday can reveal (pictured: Ms Cambell at London Fashion Week in 2019).
The Charity Commission said it was still carrying out an investigation into Fashion For Relief, which Campbell founded in 2005 (pictured: Campbell at a Fashion For Relief show in Cannes in 2018).
Campbell, 53, would take center stage at the galas, appearing in spectacular designer dresses, and was honored by the British Fashion Council for her philanthropic work in 2019.
But concerns were raised in 2021 about how much money was being transferred to people in need after the Mayor of London’s Fund made an official complaint, saying the charity owed it £50,000.
The Mayor’s Fund, which helps low-income young Londoners, lodged a “serious incident” report with the Charity Commission, which announced a legal investigation in November that year.
Last night a Charity Commission spokesperson told this newspaper that the charity had been removed from the charity register last month. It came after the watchdog appointed two managers to take charge of Fashion For Relief, which had consistently filed its accounts late.
A friend of Mrs Campbell said last night that Fashion For Relief was set up to raise “awareness” and not just money. They insisted the supermodel, worth an estimated £63million, had decided to suspend Fashion For Relief before the watchdog’s investigation was launched.
A Charity Commission spokesperson said: “We can confirm that Fashion For Relief’s acting administrators appointed by the Commission have applied for it to be removed from the charity register on the basis that it is no longer trading.”
‘The elimination process is now complete and reflected in the public record. Our legal investigation into the charity is ongoing.’
As part of the investigation, Fashion For Relief trustees were prevented from carrying out certain financial transactions to “protect the property of the charity”.
A friend of Ms Campbell said last night that Fashion For Relief was set up to raise “awareness” and not just money (pictured: Ms Campbell at London Fashion Week in 2019).
Campbell, 53, would take center stage at the galas, appearing in spectacular designer dresses, and was honored by the British Fashion Council for her philanthropic work in 2019 (pictured Campbell at the 2019 Fashion Awards).
The trustees were Mrs. Campbell; her key assistant, Veronica Chou, heiress to a £2bn textile fortune; and the socialite and lawyer Bianka Hellmich. Chou resigned from the charity days after the Commission launched its investigation in 2021.
A spokesperson for the charity said: ‘The liquidation of Fashion For Relief was a decision made by the administrators three years ago. It was not closed by force.
“Fashion For Relief operates in the United States and will continue to conduct fundraising efforts around the world.”
