Naomi Campbell has been banned from any charity involvement in England and Wales for the next five years following claims that she used funds for personal expenses. Fashion for Relief is a charity organization the 54-year-old supermodel helped found in 2005. Upon looking into the use of the funds, it was found that she and two other trustees, Bianka Hellmich and Veronica Chou, had been misappropriating the money. They were also banned from charity involvement for nine and four years, respectively.
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The Charity Commission For England and Wales performed an inquiry.
On September 26, the Charity Commission For England and Wales performed an inquiry, which found that there were “multiple instances of misconduct and / or mismanagement” by Campbell and the other trustees, according to E! News. “Between April 2016 and July 2022, only 8.5 percent of the charity’s overall expenditure was on charitable grants,” the inquiry detailed.
Campbell spent more than $20,000 on personal expenditures in May 2018.
The inquiry went on to share that the trustees spent €14,800 (around $19,800) on a flight from London to Nice for a fundraising event in May 2018. During that trip, Campbell allegedly used the charity’s funds to spend €9,400 (about $12,500) on hotel accommodations, along with an additional €7,939.75 (about $10,700) of the funds on “spa treatments, room service, and the purchase of cigarettes and hotel products.”
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Trustees claimed that the expenses were a 'cost-effective choice.'
The trustees told the commission that the funds used for hotel and travel were a “cost-effective choice” and that the cost of the hotel was usually covered by a donor. The inquiry, however, noted that “no evidence was provided by the trustees to evidence such payments by the Donor and no corresponding credits to the charity, from the Donor, were identified from the Inquiry’s review of the charity’s financial records.”
Fashion for Relief has been removed as a charity.
According to the Charity Commission, Fashion for Relief has been “removed from the register of charities.” It was initially “set up for the purpose of poverty relief and advancing health and education by making grants to charities or other organizations and by giving resources directly to those affected.”
Campbell is 'concerned' about the investigation.
Regarding the inquiry, Campbell voiced that she is “extremely concerned.” Speaking to the Associated Press, she explained, “I was not in control of my charity, I put the control in the hands of a legal employer. We are investigating to find out what and how, and everything I do and every penny I ever raised goes to charity.”
