British model Naomi Campbell said she was “not in control” of her charity, following her disqualification from being a trustee for five years in England and Wales after a watchdog found charity funds were being mismanaged.
An inquiry into Fashion for Relief, a charity which says it was founded by Campbell in 2015, found serious mismanagement of funds.
Misconduct included using charity money to pay for Campbell’s stay at a five-star hotel in Cannes, France, as well as spa treatments, room service and cigarettes.
Campbell (54) accepted a French award recognising significant contributions to the arts and literature on the same day she was disqualified as a charity trustee.
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“I just found out today about the findings, and I’m extremely concerned, and we are investigating on our side as I was not in control of my charity, I put the control in the hands of a lawyer,” Campbell told reporters after she was made a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters at the French Ministry for Culture.
“And so we are investigating to find out what and how, as everything I do and every penny I ever raised goes towards charities.”
Campbell was one of three trustees to be disqualified as a result of the Charity Commission inquiry.
Bianka Hellmich has been disqualified as a trustee for nine years, and Veronica Chou for four years.
It means they are prevented from being a trustee or holding a senior management role in any charity in England and Wales during the length of the disqualification.
The Charity Commission, which registers and regulates charities in England and Wales, opened an inquiry into Fashion for Relief in 2021.
Fashion for Relief was dissolved and removed from the register of charities earlier this year.
It had been set up with the aim of uniting the fashion industry to relieve poverty and advance health and education, by making grants to other organisations and giving resources towards global disasters. It hosted fundraising events to generate income, including in Cannes and London.
Some £344,000 has been recovered and a further £98,000 of charitable funds protected, the Charity Commission said.
The investigation found that between April 2016 and July 2022, 8.5% of the charity’s overall expenditure was on charitable grants.
The inquiry saw no evidence that trustees took action to ensure fundraising methods were in the charity’s best interests, or that the money it spent was reasonable relative to the income it generated.
It also said it found some fundraising expenditure to be misconduct or mismanagement by the charity’s trustees.
This included a €14,800 flight from London to Nice for transferring art and jewellery to a fundraising event in Cannes in 2018.
It also looked into the decision to spend €9,400 of charity funds on a three-night stay at a five-star hotel for Campbell.
Furthermore, it examined expenses incurred by Campbell totalling nearly €7,940, alongside the hotel stay, paid for by the charity. These costs included spa treatments, room service, and the purchase of cigarettes and hotel products.
The regulator said trustees explained that hotel costs were typically covered by a donor to the charity, therefore not costing the charity, but failed to provide any evidence to support this.
Representatives for Campbell have been contacted for comment. – PA