Naomi Campbell, a renowned British model, expressed shock regarding the mismanagement of her charity, Fashion for Relief, which she founded in 2015. She stated that she had entrusted the charity’s management to a lawyer and had not been in direct control. The statement followed an inquiry into the charity that revealed significant misuse of funds.
Naomi Campbell was handed a disqualification lasting five years as a trustee in England and Wales due to a finding by a regulator that there was a misuse of charity funds. Items she procured using the charity funds included five-star hotel stays in Cannes, France, in addition to spa treatments, room service and cigarettes.
Coinciding with her disqualification, Campbell (54) received a French honour for her significant contributions to art and literature. She stated that she was caught off guard by the investigation findings and that every penny she had raised went to charity causes.
Alongside Campbell, Bianka Hellmich and Veronica Chou are the two other trustees who faced disqualifications, lasting nine and four years respectively. This means none of them can assume the position of a trustee or a senior management role within any charity in Wales and England for the duration of their disqualification.
The charity, Fashion for Relief, underwent an inquiry by the Charity Commission, which regulates charities in England and Wales, in 2021. The charity was set out to bring together the fashion industry in a bid to alleviate poverty and advance health and education, as well as provide aid during global crises, but was dissolved and taken off the charity register earlier this year.
The organisation would pull together fundraising events around the globe, including London and Cannes, to generate income. The Charity Commission reported that £344,000 has been recouped and an additional £98,000 of charitable funds safeguarded following the inquiry.
The probe discovered that from April 2016 to July 2022, charitable grants accounted for only 8.5% of the total outlay of the charity. The investigation revealed no proof that the trustees made efforts to confirm fundraising strategies were beneficial to the charity, or that the funds expended were justifiable in comparison to the revenue earned.
The inquiry additionally highlighted some instances of mismanagement or misconduct relating to the charity’s fundraising expenses by its trustees. One such case involved a €14,800 flight from London to Nice for the transportation of artefacts and jewellery for a fundraiser in Cannes in 2018.
The inquiry also scrutinized the approval to utilise €9,400 of the charity’s resources towards a three-night accommodation in a luxury five-star hotel for Campbell. Additionally, it reviewed around €7,940 expenses by Campbell, including the hotel lodging, which was paid for by the charity. These expenditures encompassed spa services, room service, as well as the buying of cigarettes and hotel items.
The official watchdog indicated that the trustees claimed that a benefactor to the charity typically assumed the hotel expenses, implying no costs to the charity; however, they were unable to provide any substantiating evidence of this claim.
Attempts have been made to reach out to Campbell’s representatives for their statement. – PA