Naomi Campbell admits failures at her Fashion for Relief charity but denies misconduct after ban from trustee role after spending scandal
Supermodel Naomi Campbell has admitted to failures at her Fashion for Relief charity - but denied misconduct.
Supermodel Naomi Campbell has admitted to failures at her Fashion for Relief charity - but denied misconduct.
The 54-year-old was banned last month from being a charity trustee for five years after an inquiry found she used funds raised for good causes for spa treatments and cigarettes instead.
She founded Fashion For Relief in 2005, aiming to raise funds for humanitarian causes by staging runway shows, but the charity was removed from Britains list of charities this year.
An inquiry published into the organisation by the Charity Commission found multiple instances of misconduct and mismanagement, and the commission said it was banning Campbell plus two others from trusteeship as a result.
Campbell has now said she failed in her duties as a trustee and may not have been as actively engaged in the charitys day-to-day operations as she should have been.
But she maintained she had not engaged in any financial misconduct or misused the charity during its tumultuous nine years.
The Mail On Sunday revealed that official accounts showed that it spent more than £1.6million on a glittering gala in Cannes, but gave just £5,000 to good causes over a 15-month period.
Supermodel Naomi Campbell has admitted to failures at her Fashion for Relief charity but denied misconduct after being banned from being a trustee
Campbell poses after being awarded the Chevalier de lordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) at the French Ministry for Culture in Paris in September 2024
The supermodel is pictured here at a Fashion For Relief event at Doha Fire Station in Qatars capital in November 2021
She may not have been as actively engaged in the charitys day-to-day operations as she should have been, Campbells spokesperson has told the Guardian - adding that she had never engaged in any form of financial misconduct.
They said: Naomi has never received payment for her involvement with Fashion for Relief, nor has she billed any personal expenses to the organisation.
The charity - founded on inspirational words by Nelson Mandela telling Campbell to use her voice for good - claimed to have raised more than £11million.
This was mostly through glitzy fundraising events held all over the world, including in New York, Mumbai and Moscow.
Campbell would take centre stage at the galas, appearing in showstopping designer gowns, and was honoured by the British Fashion Council for her services to and achievements in the fashion industry in 2019.
But concerns were raised in 2021 about how much money was being passed on to people in need after the Mayors Fund for London lodged an official complaint, saying that it was owed £50,000 by the charity.
Supermodel Naomi Campbell - seen in Paris - has been disqualified as a trustee after an investigation into her Fashion For Relief charity uncovered serious mismanagement
Naomi Campbell played a prominent role in catwalk shows staged on behalf of her Fashion For Relief charity - seen here during London Fashion Week in September 2019
Naomi Campbell was reduced to tears as she was honoured at the French Ministry of Culture after her charity came under fire
The Mayors 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 that as a result of its investigation, more than £344,000 had been recovered and used to make donations to two other charities and settle Fashion For Reliefs outstanding liabilities.
The regulator found that between 2016 and 2022 only 8.5 per cent of Fashion for Reliefs expenditure was directed towards charitable grants.
Unauthorised payments of 290,000 pounds ($388,000) were made to one of the trustees, while money was also spent on room service, spa treatments and cigarettes.
The Commission published the report of its statutory inquiry into Fashion For Relief, concluding the charity was poorly governed and had inadequate financial management.
It also said it found some fundraising expenditure to be misconduct or mismanagement by the charitys trustees.
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
This included a €14,800 (£12,300) flight from London to Nice in 2018 for transferring art and jewellery.
In these cases, the trustees failed to show how these were cost-effective and an appropriate use of the charitys resources, the Charity Commission said.
The inquiry saw no evidence trustees had reviewed the charitys operating model to ensure fundraising methods were in the organisations best interest and that costs were reasonable relative to cash brought in.
Campbell was banned from being a trustee for five years, former colleagues Bianka Hellmich for nine and Veronica Chou for four.
Tearful Campbell insisted last month, I was not in control of my charity, after she was banned.
Campbell spoke to reporters in Paris to break her silence and address the Charity Commissions findings.
Speaking ahead of a glitzy ceremony where she was honoured with the most prestigious cultural award in France, she explained she was extremely concerned but said: I was not in control of my charity.
We are investigating on our side as I was not in control of my charity, she said. I put the control in the hands of a legal lawyer so we are investigating to find out what and how, as anything I do and every penny I ever raise goes towards charities.
Naomi Campbell attends the Award Ceremony For The Insigna Of Chevalier De LOrdre Des Arts Et Des Lettres - Knight Of The Order Of Arts And Letters, September 2024
Among those at the Fashion For Relief event at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2018 were (left to right) Maria Borges, Bella Hadid, Naomi Campbell, Winnie Harlow and Natalia Vodianova
Campbell, wearing a black and white striped Chanel dress, broke down in tears as she received the Chevalier de lOrdres des Arts et des Lettres, before embracing French Culture Minister Rachida Dati in an emotional hug.
We are investigating on our side as I was not in control of my charity, she said. I put the control in the hands of a legal lawyer so we are investigating to find out what and how, as anything I do and every penny I ever raise goes towards charities.
Tim Hopkins, the Charity Commissions deputy director for specialist investigations and standards, said: Trustees are legally required to make decisions that are in their charitys 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.
This inquiry, and the work of the interim managers we appointed to run the charity in place of the trustees, has resulted in the recovery of £344,000 and protection of a further £98,000 charitable funds.
I am pleased that the inquiry has seen donations made to other charities which this charity has previously supported.
The trustees were Ms Campbell, her key aide Ms Chou who is the heiress to a £2 billion textile fortune, and socialite and lawyer Ms Hellmich.
Ms Chou quit the charity days after the Commission launched its probe in 2021.
A spokesman for the charity said in April when it was removed from the charity register: The winding up of Fashion For Relief was a decision made by the trustees three years ago. It was not forcibly closed.
Fashion For Relief operates in America and will continue to do fundraising initiatives worldwide.
