British supermodel Naomi Campbell banned from being charity trustee for embezzling funds

The supermodel was disqualified for five years after a Charity Commission inquiry found that Fashion for Relief passed on only a small fraction of the millions of pounds it raised from star-studded celebrity fashion events to good causes.

The charity inappropriately spent tens of thousands of pounds on luxury hotel rooms, flights, spa treatments, personal security and cigarettes for Campbell, while unauthorised consultancy payments running into hundreds of thousands of pounds were made to one of Campbell’s fellow trustees, the commission said.

It found that over a five-year period from 2016, Fashion for Relief raised just under £4.8m (Ksh. 718 million) from a series of fashion shows but paid out only £389,000 (Ksh. 55 million) in grants to partner charities once the cost of events and other expenses were accounted for.

Nearly £350,000 (Ksh. 50 million) was later recovered from the charity by interim managers appointed by the commission and paid to the charities Save the Children and the Mayor’s Fund for London, which reported Fashion for Relief to the regulators four years ago after failing to receive promised payments from fundraising agreements.

Campbell’s fellow trustee Bianka Hellmich, who the inquiry found received £290,000 (Ksh. 41 million) in unauthorised consultancy fees and £26,000 ( Ksh.3.7 million) a year in travel expenses from the charity over a two-year period, was disqualified from being a charity trustee for nine years.

Hellmich proposed to the commission to repay the fees and expenses in February 2022 and a repayment plan was agreed with the commission. The full amount was repaid in April 2023.

Fashion for Relief has previously argued that it was not solely a fundraising charity but also a platform that, through its high-profile fundraising events, encouraged donors to give directly to its partner charities and good causes.

Following the opening of the inquiry, both Save the Children Fund and the Mayor’s Fund for London made complaints to the commission regarding Fashion for Relief.

Fashion for Relief held fundraising events for the two charities, but the inquiry found that it failed to manage its partnership arrangements.

Tim Hopkins, who was part of the investigations team, said in a statement: “Trustees are legally required to make decisions that are in their charity’s best interests and to comply with their legal duties and responsibilities".

He added: "Our inquiry has found that the trustees of this charity failed to do so, which has resulted in our action to disqualify them".

Fashion for Relief was removed from the register of charities on 15 March 2024.