Naomi Campbell defends role after charity trustee barring: I was not in control

British exemplary Naomi Campbell has said she was “not successful control” of her charity, pursuing her disqualification from being a trustee for 5 years aft a watchdog recovered foundation funds were being mismanaged.

An enquiry into Fashion for Relief, a foundation which says it was founded by Campbell successful 2015, recovered superior mismanagement of funds.

Misconduct included utilizing foundation wealth to wage for Campbell’s enactment astatine a five-star edifice successful Cannes, France, arsenic good arsenic spa treatments, country work and cigarettes.

The 54-year-old accepted a French grant recognising important contributions to the arts and lit connected the aforesaid time she was disqualified arsenic a foundation trustee.

“I conscionable recovered retired contiguous astir the findings, and I’m highly concerned, and we are investigating connected our broadside arsenic I was not successful power of my charity, I enactment the power successful the hands of a lawyer,” Campbell told reporters aft she was made a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters astatine the French Ministry for Culture.

“And truthful we are investigating to find retired what and how, arsenic everything I bash and each penny I ever raised goes towards charities.”

Campbell was 1 of 3 trustees to beryllium disqualified arsenic a effect of the Charity Commission inquiry.

Bianka Hellmich has been disqualified arsenic a trustee for 9 years, and Veronica Chou for 4 years.

It means they are prevented from being a trustee oregon holding a elder absorption relation successful immoderate foundation successful England and Wales during the magnitude of the disqualification.

The Charity Commission, which registers and regulates charities successful England and Wales, opened an enquiry into Fashion for Relief successful 2021.

Fashion for Relief was dissolved and removed from the registry of charities earlier this year.

It had been acceptable up with the purpose of uniting the manner manufacture to relieve poorness and beforehand wellness and education, by making grants to different organisations and giving resources towards planetary disasters.

It hosted fundraising events to make income, including successful Cannes and London.

Some £344,000 has been recovered and a further £98,000 of charitable funds protected, the Charity Commission said.

The probe recovered that betwixt April 2016 and July 2022, 8.5% of the charity’s wide expenditure was connected charitable grants.

The enquiry saw nary grounds that trustees took enactment to guarantee fundraising methods were successful the charity’s champion interests, oregon that the wealth it spent was tenable comparative to the income it generated.

It besides said it recovered immoderate fundraising expenditure to beryllium misconduct oregon mismanagement by the charity’s trustees.

This included a 14,800 euro (£12,300) formation from London to Nice for transferring creation and jewellery to a fundraising lawsuit successful Cannes successful 2018.

It besides looked into the determination to walk 9,400 euros (£7,800) of foundation funds connected a three-night enactment astatine a five-star edifice for Campbell.

In these cases, the trustees “failed to amusement however these were cost-effective and an due usage of the charity’s resources”, the Charity Commission said.

Furthermore, it examined expenses incurred by Campbell totalling astir 7,940 euros (£6,600), alongside the edifice stay, paid for by the charity.

These costs included spa treatments, country service, and the acquisition of cigarettes and edifice products.

The regulator said trustees explained that edifice costs were typically covered by a donor to the charity, truthful not costing the charity, but failed to supply immoderate grounds to enactment this.

Representatives for Campbell person been contacted for comment.