Naomi Campbell is fighting to overturn her five-year charity ban as regulators accuse her of abandoning her responsibilities at Fashion for Relief.
The Charity Commission told a tribunal that Campbell, who founded the charity in 2015, was “highly culpable” for the organization’s mismanagement and misuse of funds. The watchdog said she showed an “absence of the competence that could be expected” from a trustee and failed to stay properly involved in how the charity was run.
The Guardian reports that Campbell’s legal team pushed back, saying the supermodel was not dishonest and did not profit from the charity, and her attorney, Andrew Westwood KC, argued she was a victim of fraud and had placed too much trust in former trustee Bianka Hellmich, who Campbell’s side claims kept her in the dark about the finances.
Westwood called that trust a “misplaced reliance,” but said it was an honest mistake. He accused the commission of going after Campbell as a “high-profile scalp.”
Fashion for Relief, known for glamorous fundraising events, was shut down in 2024 after commission-appointed managers found it was insolvent. Investigators said the charity raised £4.8 million over five years, while its partner charities received just 10% of that. The inquiry also cited messy records and charges for luxury hotel stays, flights, spa treatments, and cigarettes.
The commission said Campbell has shown them no real insight into what went wrong, and the tribunal is expected to issue a decision within three months.
