EBN- Britain has banned supermodel Naomi Campbell from serving on charity trustees for five years, after an investigation into a charity she founded found that money she raised went to pay for cigarettes and spa services.
Campbell, 54, and a group of elite models have dominated the fashion industry and magazine covers since the 1990s.
In 2005, she founded Fashion for Relief, with the aim of raising funds for humanitarian causes and relief for the poor, through fashion shows, but the organisation was removed from the list of charities in Britain this year.
The investigation found “serious mismanagement” and irregularities in several incidents at the firm, with tens of thousands of pounds spent on luxury hotel rooms, massages and personal security for the model.
According to the Charity Commission, Bianca Hellmich and Veronica Cho (partners of Naomi Campbell) have been disqualified for 9 and 4 years respectively.
Helmich is said to have received £290,000 ($380,000) in unauthorised consultancy and expense payments over two years.
The committee subsequently announced that Campbell and two others would be banned from serving on the boards of trustees of charitable institutions.
The investigation found that between April 2016 and June 2022, only a small proportion (8.5%) of the charity’s total spending was allocated to charitable grants.
The recovered funds were donated to two other charities, Save the Children and the Mayor of London Fund, settling the organisation’s remaining liabilities.
