Supermodel to appeal charity trustee ban

Supermodel Naomi Campbell is to appeal against her ban on being a charity trustee, claiming that a fake email address was used to impersonate her and gave a false impression of her involvement.

In September 2024, the 54-year-old was banned from being a charity trustee for five years after a UK watchdog found a mismanagement of charity funds at Fashion for Relief, which she founded.

The model’s representatives claim some documents submitted to an inquiry by The Charity Commission gave a misleading impression of her role in running the UK charity.

They claimed there was evidence of a fake email account which they said was used to impersonate Campbell in communications with lawyers.

As a result, they said she was therefore not made aware of the allegations being made in the watchdog’s inquiry and did not have the opportunity to answer them.

The Charity Commission inquiry found that money raised was being spent on luxury hotels, spa treatments, cigarettes and security.

At the time, Campbell said she was “extremely concerned” by the findings and added that she was not the person “in control” of the charity.

Her case will come before a tribunal on Friday (7 February). In a statement on Wednesday, Campbell said she wants to “ensure that those responsible are held accountable and justice is done”.

Campbell added that she has “fought to uncover the facts” since the commission’s report and “what has been unearthed so far is shocking”.

“I want to shine a light on how easy it is to fake identities online and prevent anybody else going through what I have been through. I want to ensure that those responsible are held accountable and justice is done.”

Campbell was one of three of the charity’s trustees to be disqualified as a result of the probe last year. Bianka Hellmich and Veronica Chou have been banned for nine years and four years respectively.

A probe into Fashion for Relief was opened by the commission in 2021, with the charity dissolved and removed from the register of charities in March 2024.

The inquiry, which looked at Fashion for Relief’s expenses between April 2016 and July 2022, found that just 8.5% of funds raised were spent on grants to charity.

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

Fashion for Relief had been set up with the aim of uniting the fashion industry to relieve poverty and advance health and education, by making grants to other organisations and giving resources towards global disasters.