Trustee Ban Overturned
Tribunal overturns Naomi Campbell’s charity trustee ban after finding she faced deception.
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Key Points
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Campbell said the episode had “hurt deeply” because giving back was important to her, and said she could now return to serving the people and communities she wanted to help.
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Campbell’s lawyers told the tribunal that a fake email account had been used to impersonate her. She also alleged that fellow trustee Bianka Hellmich forged her signature; Hellmich denied the allegations.
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Fashion for Relief was established in 2005 to use the fashion industry to relieve poverty and support health and education, including by making grants to other organisations and aiding responses to global disasters.
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A report on the tribunal’s findings put the 2018 Cannes hotel charges—including room service, spa treatments and cigarettes—at €4,386, or about £3,750.
A UK tribunal has overturned supermodel Naomi Campbell's five-year ban on serving as a charity trustee, ruling that she was deceived by a fellow trustee about serious financial wrongdoing Charity Times. Although investigators found that Fashion for Relief—the charity Campbell founded in 2005—suffered from serious misconduct, the tribunal determined Campbell did not know about the most damaging misuse of funds. The Charity Commission acknowledged that it, Campbell, and others had fallen victim to "sophisticated deception."
How Much Money Went Missing
The Charity Commission's investigation uncovered unauthorized payments totaling more than £290,000 to fellow trustee Bianka Hellmich Fashion Times. Additionally, investigators flagged €4,386 (about £3,750) in 2018 Cannes hotel charges paid by the charity. Those expenses included room service, spa treatments, and cigarettes. The tribunal acknowledged these were serious breaches but found Campbell was not aware of them.
Campbell Says She Was Impersonated and Deceived
Campbell's legal team told the tribunal that someone used a fake email account to impersonate her Third Sector. Campbell also alleged that trustee Bianka Hellmich forged her signature on key documents. Hellmich denied these accusations. The tribunal accepted that Campbell had been systematically deceived about the scale and nature of the financial misuse occurring within the charity.
Campbell Shares Responsibility for Filing Failures
The tribunal found that Campbell bore some responsibility for governance failures, including late financial filings and inadequate oversight The New Daily. However, the panel ruled these shortcomings did not make her unfit to serve as a trustee given the deliberate deception she faced from Hellmich. Campbell said the episode had "hurt deeply" because charitable work was important to her, and expressed relief that she could now return to serving communities.
Fashion for Relief's Original Mission and Collapse
Fashion for Relief was established in 2005 to use the fashion industry to fight poverty and support health and education initiatives Redland City Bulletin. The charity made grants to other organizations and responded to global disasters. The financial mismanagement and deception that emerged during the Charity Commission's investigation effectively ended the charity's operations and led to Campbell's original five-year ban in 2022.
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