Since the poverty charity Naomi Campbell started nearly two decades ago was judged to have been "poorly governed" with "inadequate financial management," the British supermodel has been prohibited from serving as a trustee for charities in England and Wales for a period of five years, reported ABC.
The Charity Commission announced on Thursday that, after a three-year probe into the financial operations of "Fashion for Relief," it had discovered "multiple instances of misconduct and/or mismanagement" and that, during a six-year period beginning in 2016, only 8.5% of the organization's total expenditures were allocated to charitable grants.
For instance, it was discovered that thousands of pounds' worth of charitable donations were utilized to pay for Campbell's opulent hotel stay in Cannes, France, as well as spa services, room service, and even smokes. The regulator claimed that the trustees clarified that hotel expenses were usually paid for by a charitable contributor, negating the need for the organization to incur such charges, but they did not present any supporting documentation for this claim.
Additionally, it was discovered that Bianka Hellmich, a fellow trustee, had received around 290,000 pounds ($385,000) in unlawful cash for consulting services, in violation of the charity's charter. She has nine years of disqualification from serving as a trustee. Veronica Chou, the other trustee, was disqualified for four years.
According to Tim Hopkins, deputy director for specialist investigations and standards, "Trustees are legally required to make decisions that are in their charity's best interests and to comply with their legal duties and responsibilities." "We have taken action to disqualify the trustees of this charity after our investigation revealed that they did not comply with this requirement."
Earlier this year, the nonprofit—which was established in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina in 2005—was disbanded and taken off the charitable registry. The organization claimed to have raised more than $15 million for charitable causes worldwide by presenting fashion initiatives and projects in New York, London, Cannes, Moscow, Mumbai, and Dar es Salaam on its still-active website.
In 2021, an investigation into its operations was launched by the Charity Commission, which oversees and registers charities in England and Wales.
The foundation was founded with the intention of unifying the fashion industry to combat poverty, improve health, and enhance education through funding disaster relief efforts and grants to other organizations. It held fundraising events in Cannes and London among other places to make money.
According to the commission, an additional 98,000 pounds in charitable funds have been safeguarded and about 344,000 pounds ($460,000) have been recovered. These proceeds were used to pay off existing debts and donate to two other charity.
When approached, a Campbell representative stated that there was currently no comment.