Former British supermodel Naomi Campbell has been barred for five years from running a charity in England and Wales after an inquiry found funds raised by an organization she founded were spent on spa treatment and room service charges.
The inquiry into Fashion for Relief, released on Thursday, identified “multiple instances of misconduct,” including the use of charity money to pay for a five-star hotel stay for Campbell in the south of France.
According to the inquiry, only 8.5% of the funds raised were spent on charitable grants, and most of the funds were used to pay for Campbell’s stay at luxurious hotels, spa treatment, and cigarettes.
Campbell founded Fashion For Relief in 2005 to relieve poverty.
Reacting to the inquiry in an interview with AP, Campbell said she was unaware of the expenses because she “was not in control of my charity“.
“I have just found out today about the findings, and I am extremely concerned,” she said.
“I was not in control of my charity, I put the control in the hands of a legal employer.”
Aside from Campbell, other trustees such as, Veronica Chou and Bianca Hellmich were sanctioned.
Hellmich was banned for nine years for receiving $385,000 of unauthorized funds for consultancy services. Chou was banned for four years.
Commenting on the ban, Tim Hopkins, who was part of the investigation, said Campbell and the other trustees failed in their legal duties.
“Trustees are legally required to make decisions that are in their charity’s best interests and to comply with their legal duties and responsibilities,” he said.
“Our inquiry has found that the trustees of this charity failed to do so, which has resulted in our action to disqualify them”.
About £344,000 has also been recovered, and a further £98,000 in charitable funds has been protected.