Naomi Campbell called unfit to run a charity in her appeal against ban

Naomi Campbell showed herself to be unfit to run a charity after the supermodel “completely abdicated” her responsibilities as a trustee of her now defunct Fashion for Relief project, according to the charity watchdog.

The Charity Commission told a tribunal that Campbell, who is trying to overturn a five-year ban on running a charity, was “highly culpable” for mismanagement and misuse of funds at Fashion for Relief, the former charity she founded in 2015.

It said Campbell had shown an “absence of the competence that could be expected” from a trustee when she delegated oversight of the charity to a fellow trustee and failed to properly engage even when it became clear there were problems.

Lawyers for Campbell rejected the commission’s claims, arguing the watchdog had treated her as a “high-profile scalp”. They said she was a victim of fraud who had made an honest mistake and had not derived any personal benefit from the charity.

Fashion for Relief, which had raised millions of pounds for anti-poverty projects through a series of glitzy high-profile fashion events hosted by Campbell, was wound up in March 2024 after managers sent in by the commission found it was insolvent.

The commission’s inquiry report on Fashion for Relief, published six months later, highlighted shambolic financial management, misconduct and chaotic record-keeping, including failure to keep receipts or minutes of meetings and decisions.

In one instance, the charity was charged thousands of pounds for Campbell’s use of luxury hotel rooms, flights, spa treatments and cigarettes. While it raised £4.8m over five years, its partner charities, which included Save the Children and the Mayor’s Fund for London, received just 10% of the proceeds.

Challenging the disqualification, Campbell’s lawyers told the tribunal she had been the victim of an elaborate deception by a fellow trustee, Bianka Hellmich, who had forged documents and emails and kept her in the dark about the charity’s finances.

Campbell had in good faith relied on Hellmich, at the time a trusted friend and adviser, to oversee financial and business matters, and was unaware of what the commission would later find to be misuse of charity funds and poor governance.

Campbell had not acted dishonestly, lacked integrity or derived any personal benefit, her lawyer Andrew Westwood KC told the tribunal on Thursday. Her “misplaced reliance” on Hellmich was a mistake but an honest one, he said, and it was not in the public interest to disqualify someone who was the victim of a fraud.

Westwood argued Campbell had delegated responsibilities to Hellmich, believing she “possessed the necessary expertise, skill and prudence to manage the financial, legal and regulatory aspects of the charity”, allowing Campbell to take on a figurehead role.

However, Faisel Sadiq, acting for the commission, said Campbell had failed in her duty as a trustee to proactively supervise the charity’s business. “That she [Campbell] is busy and lives in America does not entitle her to be treated differently,” he said.

Sadiq told the tribunal that Campbell, who gave evidence on Tuesday, was “an entirely unreliable witness” who while not “actively dishonest” had “said a number of things that simply were not true” in her evidence. Rather than “honesty and accuracy” her focus was on “controlling the media narrative”.

Campbell had shown no contrition or insight into her failings, said Sadiq. “Her go-to was to blame others,” he said. She was and remained unfit to be a charity trustee.

Westwood rejected Sadiq’s “hyperbolic assertions” about Campbell’s conduct. The commission’s inquiry was flawed but in Campbell it had “got its high-profile scalp” and was “determined to hang on to it at any cost”, he said.

The commission inquiry found Hellmich received £316,000 in unauthorised fees and travel expenses from the charity over a two-year period. She has since repaid the sum. Hellmich was approached for comment. She previously told the Guardian there was “absolutely no truth” to Campbell’s claims.

The forgery and fraud allegations made against Hellmich have been referred to the police by Campbell’s team and by the commission, the tribunal heard.

Hellmich and a third trustee, Veronica Chou, were banned by the commission from holding a charity trustee position for nine and four years respectively. Neither has appealed against the disqualification.

The tribunal will now deliberate before issuing a judgment, expected in the next three months.