Naomi Campbell’s philanthropic image has taken a massive hit after she was accused of misusing money raised by her charity organization, Fashion for Relief.
Following an inquiry led by Charity Commission, the 54-year-old model was accused of using charity funds on luxury hotels, spa treatments, flights, room service, personal security, and even cigarettes.
Highlights
- Naomi Campbell has been accused of misusing money raised by her charity organization, Fashion for Relief.
- She has been barred from being a charity trustee for five years following an inquiry led by Charity Commission.
- Only 8.5% of Fashion for Relief's overall expenditure was on charitable grants between April 2016 and July 2022, the inquiry found.
- “I’ve just found out today about the findings, and I am extremely concerned,” the supermodel said in her response.
The supermodel is one of the three trustees from Fashion for Relief to be disqualified in light of the allegations.
Naomi Campbell's reputation as a philanthropist is under fire after allegations of financial misconduct involving her charity, Fashion for Relief
Image credits: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
Naomi has been banned from being a charity trustee for five years, while a second trustee, Bianka Hellmich, has been barred for nine years.
Veronica Chou, a third trustee, has been disqualified for four years from being a charity trustee.
After the allegations surfaced, the catwalk queen claimed she was “not in control” of the charity’s finances.
"I've just found out today about the findings, and I am extremely concerned," she was quoted telling AP news agency.
"I was not in control of my charity, I put the control in the hands of a legal employer," she added. "We are investigating to find out what and how, and everything I do and every penny I ever raised goes to charity."
The supermodel, 54, is accused of using charity funds for personal luxury expenses, including five-star hotels, spa treatments, flights, and even cigarettes
Image credits: naomi
The runway veteran faced immense backlash as netizens flocked to her social media page and left comments about the news.
“Imagine the depravity of being worth 80 million and stealing from a poverty relief charity,” one wrote, while another said, “Stealing from charity? Lower than low.”
“Stealing from charity is the lowest of the low!” read a third comment.
Another wrote, “You'll be in jail soon..”
“Abusing Charity funds,” said another. “My god. Totally shameless. All just a PR stunt. How empty and embarrassing.”
The Charity Commission, which registers and regulates charities in England and Wales, opened an inquiry into Fashion For Relief in 2021 and found that only 8.5% of the charity's overall expenditure was on charitable grants between April 2016 and July 2022.
The catwalk queen and two other trustees have been banned from being charity trustees for a stipulated number of years
Image credits: naomi
The Charity Commission's inquiry revealed severe financial mismanagement, including the misuse of funds for extravagant expenses.
Notably, the charity paid €9,400 (£7,800 or $10,400) for a three-night stay at a five-star hotel for Naomi and €14,800 (£12,300 or $16,440) for a flight from London to Nice to transfer art and jewelry to a Cannes fundraiser in 2018.
Trustees failed to justify how these expenditures were cost-effective or appropriate for the charity's resources. Moreover, the supermodel’s personal expenses during the hotel stay, including spa treatments, room service, and cigarettes, were also covered by the charity.
The accusations against the runway veteran came after an inquiry conducted by Charity Commission, which revealed that only 8.5% of Fashion for Relief's expenditure went to charitable grants
Despite claims that a donor typically covered hotel costs, the trustees could not provide evidence to support this assertion, leading to further allegations of misconduct and mismanagement.
During the commission's inquiry, two charities named Save the Children Fund and the Mayor’s Fund for London shared their complaints about Fashion for Relief.
It was revealed that Fashion for Relief had conducted fundraising events for the two charities. However, Save the Children and the Mayor’s Fund for London said they failed to immediately receive the promised payments.
After the Charity Commission's investigation into Fashion for Relief, the regulator managed to recover £344,000 ($459,820)and secure an additional £98,000 ($130,995). The recovered money was used to pay Save the Children and the Mayor's Fund for London.
"Save the Children thanks the Charity Commission for its thorough inquiry into Fashion for Relief and enabling the payment of outstanding funds owed to the charity," the charity said in a statement shared via email with Bored Panda and others. "Save the Children’s relationship with Fashion for Relief ended in 2018 and we have no plans to work with them in the future."
Representatives for Naomi did not immediately respond to Bored Panda's request for a comment.
Charity Commission declined to comment on the matter.