Naomi Campbell has admitted she failed in her role as trustee for the Fashion For Relief charity.
Naomi Campbell speaks out on charity scandal
The 54-year-old model founded Fashion For Relief in 2005 but an investigation by the Charity Commission found just a small proportion of money raised by the foundation – which was dissolved and removed from the register of charities earlier this year – had benefitted the causes it was set up to help.
Her spokesperson told The Guardian that Naomi “acknowledges and accepts her accountability” as trustee and added that while “may not have been as actively engaged in the charity’s day-to-day operations as she should have been”, she had “never engaged in any form of financial misconduct”.
A statement issued on Naomi’s behalf said: “For over three decades, [Campbell] has dedicated herself tirelessly to charitable causes, always with the sole intention of helping others and never for personal gain. Naomi has never received payment for her involvement with Fashion for Relief, nor has she billed any personal expenses to the organisation.”
The investigation, which opened in 2021, found charity funds had been used to pay for cigarettes, spa treatments, room service, and Naomi’s stay at a five-star hotel in Cannes, and just 8.5 per cent of Fashion For Relief’s overall expenditure between April 2016 and July 2022 had gone on charitable grants.
Naomi – who was one of three trustees to have been disqualified as a result of the probe – previously said she was “extremely concerned” by the findings and an investigation was underway on her part.
She is quoted by Sky News as saying: “I was not in control of my charity, I put the control in the hands of a legal employer.
“We are investigating to find out what and how, and everything I do and every penny I ever raised goes to charity.”
The body found no evidence that trustees acted to ensure fundraising methods were in the charity’s best interests or that expenditure was reasonable when compared to the income it generated.
Tim Hopkins, who was part of the investigations team, said in a statement: “Trustees are legally required to make decisions that are in their charity’s best interests and to comply with their legal duties and responsibilities.
“Our inquiry has found that the trustees of this charity failed to do so, which has resulted in our action to disqualify them”.