Naomi Campbell’s charity Fashion Relief spent £12,000 on a flight to Nice to transport art and jewellery, and another £7,800 on the supermodel’s luxury accommodation.
Supermodel no longer has the right to lead the organization for 5 years FOTP Shutterstock
Naomi Campbell, 54, has been disqualified for five years as a trustee of her charity, Fashion Relief, after the UK’s Charity Commission revealed details of its expenses, writes the Daily Mail.
The investigation showed that between April 2016 and July 2022, only 8.5% of the organization’s spending went to charitable donations. Instead, much of the funds were used for expenses such as a £12,300 flight from London to Nice in 2018 to transport art and jewellery.
The investigation also revealed that £7,800 of the organisation’s funds were used for a three-night stay at a five-star hotel in Cannes, France, for Campbell. During this stay, Campbell spent £6,000 on spa treatments, room service and cigarettes.
The commission pointed out that more than £344,000 was recovered as a result of the investigation, which was used to make donations to two other charities and to pay off Fashion Relief’s remaining debts.
This investigation comes after the Mail on Sunday revealed that the organization spent more than £1.6 million on a lavish event in Cannes, but donated just £5,000 to charity over a 15-month period.
Inspired by… Nelson Mandela
The Charity Commission confirmed in April that the supermodel’s organization had been removed from the UK’s register of charities while investigations into allegations of mismanagement continued.
The Commission’s final report concluded that the organization was poorly governed and had inadequate financial management. Campbell was disqualified for five years, and former co-stars Bianka Hellmich and Veronica Chou were disqualified for nine and four years respectively.
Naomi Campbell set up Fashion Relief in 2005, inspired by her friend Nelson Mandela, who told her to “use your voice for good”. The organization claimed to have raised more than £11 million through lavish fundraising events held around the world, including New York, Mumbai and Moscow.
However, in 2021, questions were raised about how the funds were managed after the charity Mayor’s Fund for London lodged a formal complaint, claiming it was owed £50,000. The investigation revealed that the organization’s administrators failed to manage the partnerships effectively and allowed unauthorized payments of £290,000 for consultancy services to Bianka Hellmich, in breach of the organisation’s bylaws.
The Commission pointed out that Fashion Relief’s administrators failed to take steps to ensure that the organisation’s operating model and fundraising methods were in the best interests of the organization and that these costs were reasonable.
As a result of the investigation, steps were taken to recover the funds and protect future charitable donations.
A spokesperson for the organization said in April that Fashion For Relief decided to voluntarily disband three years ago and will continue fundraising initiatives in America.
