[imagesource: Naomi Campbell / Facebook]

The UK has banned supermodel Naomi Campbell from being a charity trustee after it was revealed the supermodel spent funds raised for good causes on spa treatments and cigarettes.

Campbell has been banned for five years after an inquiry into a charity she set up found that the donated money was ‘used’ by the model.

Her charity, Fashion For Relief, was founded in 2005 to raise funds for ‘humanitarian causes’ by staging runway shows, but the organisation has now been removed from Britain’s list of charities. The commission also decided to ban Campbell from running a charity for the next five years, while two other people who worked for the foundation were also suspended.

Between 2016-2022, the UK’s Charity Commission found that only 8.5% of Fashion for Relief’s expenditure was directed towards charitable grants. Unauthorised payments of 290,000 pounds (R6.6 million) were made to one of the trustees, while money was also spent on room service, spa treatments and cigarettes.

Such purchases are not deemed ”reasonable expenses” by the commission.

“Trustees are legally required to make decisions that are in their charity’s best interests and to comply with their legal duties and responsibilities. Our inquiry has found that the trustees of this charity failed to do so.”

As can be expected, Campbell has distanced herself from the controversy, saying that she had no control over the organisation, rather entrusting the operation to a lawyer. Campbell also called the body’s findings “deeply flawed” and said she had instructed new advisers to investigate what happened at the charity.

“First of all, I recognise that, as the face of Fashion for Relief, I am ultimately responsible for its conduct. Unfortunately, I was not involved in the day-to-day operations of the organisation, and I entrusted the legal and operational management to others.

As a Times reporter noted: Naomi Campbell sets up a charity, what could go wrong? Answer: Everything.

[source:cnbc&iol]