{"id":2175583,"date":"2026-10-01T11:54:28","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T08:54:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2175583"},"modified":"2026-10-01T11:54:28","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T08:54:28","slug":"naomi-campbell-wins-appeal-over-charity-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2175583","title":{"rendered":"Naomi Campbell wins appeal over charity ban"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/96bd\/live\/f6fcaf00-bd7e-11f1-add9-b18e6ea43b60.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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\"ReutersReuters<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Model Naomi Campbell has won her appeal against a ban on being a charity trustee, after a tribunal ruled that she was unaware of misconduct at her charity Fashion for Relief.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Campbell was banned from being a charity trustee for five years in 2024 after a watchdog found that Fashion for Relief funds had been spent on luxury hotels and spa treatments.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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However, a tribunal said on Thursday that the most serious instances of misconduct in the charity “were concealed” from Campbell by a fellow trustee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Ms Campbell was not involved in, and did not know of, that conduct,” the three-person tribunal panel said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The supermodel set up Fashion for Relief to help victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and went on to front further campaigns for disasters and causes around the world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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However, the charity was shut in 2023 and Campbell and two other trustees were banned the following year after a Charity Commission inquiry found “serious mismanagement and\/or misconduct” at Fashion for Relief, which was not passing on as much of the money raised as it was supposed to.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Campbell appealed, saying one of her fellow trustees, lawyer Bianka Hellmich, forged her signature and impersonated her using a fake email address to misdirect money that was intended for the charity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Her “only mistake” was trusting Hellmich, Campbell told the tribunal in June.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Hellmich has denied the allegations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The Charity Commission opposed Campbell’s challenge and said the five-year ban should be upheld.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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‘Entirely honest’<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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In its ruling, the First-Tier Tribunal panel said Campbell’s claim that she was deceived had been corroborated by documentary evidence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“For the avoidance of doubt, we accept that both Ms Campbell’s evidence, as well as her conduct during the operation of the Charity, was entirely honest,” they said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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They said Campbell did not know \u20ac4,386 (\u00a33,750) of hotel charges from a trip to the south of France in 2018 – including \u20ac1,298 (\u00a31,100) for dinner room service, \u20ac1,163 (\u00a3990) for spa treatments and \u20ac112 (\u00a395) for cigarettes – had come out of the charity’s expenses.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“The panel is satisfied that Ms Campbell was not responsible for the inappropriate use of the charity’s resources or any unjustified expenditure, nor did she contribute or facilitate it,” they said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Campbell must take some responsibility for failures to maintain minutes and file accounts on time – but that was not enough to disqualify the model as a charity trustee, the tribunal said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“There was serious misconduct and mismanagement in the administration of the charity she founded, Fashion for Relief,” the ruling said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“The Tribunal has found, however, that its most serious features, including unauthorised payments to Ms Campbell’s co-trustee, Bianka Hellmich, failures in the management of the Charity’s finances and the misuse of its funds, resulted from Ms Hellmich’s conduct and were concealed from Ms Campbell.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Unauthorised payments of more than \u00a3290,000 were made to Hellmich for apparent consultancy fees, the inquiry found.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The tribunal ruling continued: “Ms Hellmich deceived Ms Campbell, used forged documents and a false email address purporting to belong to her, and also deceived professional advisers and the Commission.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Ms Campbell was not involved in, and did not know of, that conduct.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“The Tribunal finds that she had no reasonable basis to suspect Ms Hellmich’s dishonesty before regulatory concerns emerged and, when they did, Ms Campbell took reasonable steps in response.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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‘I was hurt deeply’<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Following the judgment, Campbell thanked the tribunal and the judges “for taking the time to hear my side, look at the evidence, and see the truth of what happened”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The supermodel said: “Giving back has been part of who I am, so having that questioned hurt deeply.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Now I can get back to what matters most to me: being there for the people and communities I’ve always wanted to serve.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Thank you to my higher power.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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BBC News has tried to contact Hellmich.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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In April 2025, she told the Financial Times: “It is deeply distressing that Naomi Campbell is making these false accusations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Her claims are a device carefully designed to paint her as a victim, while scapegoating a so-called friend.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“This is testament to the sort of behaviour I endured during this difficult and damaging relationship. I have fully co-operated with the Charity Commission over the past six years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“I am grateful this challenging period of my life is over. I hope that Naomi finds peace and happiness in her future.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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On Thursday, a Charity Commission spokesperson said: “We made the disqualification order for Ms Campbell based on the evidence available to us at the time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“The court recognised that Ms Campbell, the Commission and the law firm concerned were subject to sophisticated deception by one of the other trustees. This was referred to the Metropolitan Police when we became aware.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“We acknowledge and will reflect on the court’s decision and are considering any wider implications for our work.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The Charity Commission also said its intervention ensured other charities including Save the Children received almost \u00a3250,000 that was owed to them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c90klkz8j06vo”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/96bd\/live\/f6fcaf00-bd7e-11f1-add9-b18e6ea43b60.jpg”] Reuters Model Naomi Campbell has won her appeal against a ban on being a charity trustee, after a tribunal ruled that she was unaware of misconduct at her charity Fashion for Relief. Campbell was banned from being a charity trustee for five years in 2024 after a watchdog found that Fashion for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[35,226],"class_list":["post-2175583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-bbc-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2175583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2175583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2175583\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2175583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2175583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2175583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}