Naomi Campbell Defends Charity Following Trustee Barring

Naomi Campbell has defended her charity, Fashion for Relief, following her disqualification as a trustee for five years.

This comes following an inquiry into the charity which was founded by Campbell in 2015, which found serious mismanagement of funds.

Such irregularities include using charity money to pay for Naomi Campbell's stay at a five star hotel in Cannes, France, which included spa treatments, room services and cigarettes, which amounted to €7,940, paid for by the charity. 

Such mismanagement of expenditure also included a flight from London to Nice for transferring art and jewellery to a fundraising event to Cannes in 2018. This flight cost €14,800.

Campbell was one of three trustees to be disqualified from the charity, following the inquiry. She was disqualified for 5 years, while Bianka Hellmich being disqualified for 9 years, and Veronica Chou for four years. 

According to a charity commission, £344,000 of charitable funds were recovered, with a further £98,000 also protected. They also found that 8.5% of the charity's overall expenditure was on charitable grands between April 2016 and July 2022. 

The inquiry also found no evidence to prove that the charity's trustees attempted to ensure that fundraising methods were in the best interests of the charity. They also found no evidence to suggest that the money they spent was reasonably relative to the income they generated. 

British model Naomi Campbell who accepted a French award for significant contributions to the arts and literature on the same day as her disqualification, addressed the issue at hand to reporters.

Campbell who was made a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters at the French Ministry for Culture, said: "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". 

"And so we are investigating to find out what and how, as everything I do and every penny I ever raised goes towards charities", she added. 

According to the regulator, the trustees had claimed that the hotel costs were covered by a donor to the charity, therefore not costing the charity. But they claimed that they did not provide any evidence to prove this. 

Representatives for Naomi Campbell have yet to comment on the matter.