British supermodel Naomi Campbell has been banned from being a charity trustee after an inquiry into Fashion for Relief revealed funds were used on hotels and spa treatments.
The Charity Commission launched an inquiry into Fashion for Relief, a charity that said it raised for environmental and humanitarian causes, after a review of its 2018 financials.
The charity had held fundraising events for the Save the Children Fund and the Mayor’s Fund for London before it removed from the register of charities.
The inquiry found that between April 2016 and July 2022, only 8.5 per cent of the charity’s overall expenditure was on charitable grants.
The watchdog reviewed trustee expenses, that focused a lot on an event held in the name of the charity in Cannes, France on 13 May 2018. It found that in addition to a five-star hotel, funds were charged by Campbell totalling near €8,000 on spa treatments, room service, and cigarettes.
The inquiry also found that unauthorised payments totalling £290,000 for consultancy services had been made to a trustee, Bianka Hellmich, which was in breach of the charity’s constitution
As a result of its findings, which included multiple instances of misconduct and mismanagement, the Commission has disqualified, Bianka Hellmich for nine years, Naomi Campbell for five years and Veronica Chou for four years
The watchdog said it had recovered over £344,000 and protected a further £98,000 of charitable funds, which were used to make donations to two other charities and settle the charity’s outstanding liabilities.
Commenting on the results, Charity Commission deputy director for specialist Investigations and standards, Tim Hopkins said: “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.
Campbell told AP news agency, “I’ve just found out today about the findings, and I am extremely concerned.” She added she was not the person “in control” of the charity.