Former supermodel Naomi Campbell has been banned from charity work in the UK for five years after funds were found to have been spent on luxury hotels and spa treatments.
British icon Campbell was a trustee of Fashion for Relief, but a Charity Commission investigation found the company was not passing on all the money raised. The “unauthorized payments” were spent on, among other things, cigarettes and security for Campbell.
The charity was founded in 2005 by Campbell and raised money to fight poverty and support economically disadvantaged young people through charity fashion shows.
Campbell told the AP Thursday: “I only found out about the results today and I'm extremely concerned,” explaining that he wasn't the person “controlling” Fashion for Relief or its spending.
She was banned from charity involvement for five years along with two other trustees, Bianka Hellmich and Veronica Chou, who were banned for nine and four years respectively.
Campbell's team did not immediately respond to a request for comment The Hollywood journalist.
The investigation found that unauthorized payments totaling £290,000 ($388,000) had been made to Hellmich for consultancy services, in breach of the charity's constitution.
Interim managers appointed by the Commission ensured reimbursements to the charity. These were used to make payments to two other charities, Save the Children Fund and Mayor's Fund for London, as well as covering the cost of Fashion for Relief's liabilities.
The investigation looked at Fashion for Relief's spending between April 2016 and July 2022, finding that just 8.5% of funds raised were spent on charitable grants.