A three-year inquiry into British supermodel Naomi Campbell's poverty relief charity found financial misconduct, officials said on Thursday.
The Fashion for Relief charity was founded in 2005 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans. The charity said on its website that it presented fashion initiatives and projects in cities like New York, London and Cannes to raise over $15 million. The charity, which focused on relieving poverty and advancing health and education, made grants to other organizations and provided resources for global disasters.
Campbell was barred from being a charity trustee in England and Wales for five years following the Charity Commission's probe.
The Charity Commission, which registers and regulates charities in England and Wales, said on Thursday that it found that Fashion for Relief has been "poorly governed" with "inadequate financial management."
In its investigation, which started in 2021, the commission discovered "multiple instances of misconduct and/or mismanagement," and that only 8.5 percent of Fashion for Relief's overall expenditure went to charitable grants in a six-year period starting in 2016.
Fashion for Relief was dissolved and removed from the register of charities earlier this year.
Thousands of pounds worth of charity funds went to pay for a luxury hotel for Campbell during a visit to Cannes, France, as well as spa treatments, room service and cigarettes, according to the commission's findings.
While the commission said that the charity's trustees said that hotel costs were typically covered by a donor to Fashion for Relief and, therefore, did not cost the charity, the trustees failed to provide supporting evidence.
The commission also found that Bianka Hellmich, a fellow charity trustee, received roughly 290,000 pounds (nearly $389,000) of unauthorized funds for consultancy services, which was against the charity's constitution.
Hellmich has been barred from being a trustee for nine years. A third trustee, Veronica Chou, was banned from being a trustee for four years.
"Trustees are legally required to make decisions that are in their charity's best interests and to comply with their legal duties and responsibilities," Tim Hopkins, deputy director for specialist investigations and standards, said. "Our inquiry has found that the trustees of this charity failed to do so, which has resulted in our action to disqualify them."
About 344,000 pounds (roughly $447,900) from the charity have been recovered and another roughly 98,00 pounds (about $131,400) of charitable funds have been protected. Some funds were donated to two other charities and some were used to settle outstanding liabilities.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
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