Naomi Campbell admits failures at charity, denies misconduct amid financial scandal

Naomi Campbell arriving at Hotel Ritz during Paris Fashion Week in June. Photo / Getty Images

The supermodel was issued a five-year ban from being a charity trustee after an inquiry found she used donated funds to buy spa treatments and cigarettes.

Supermodel Naomi Campbell acknowledged shortcomings in her role as a trustee of the Fashion for Relief charity, which she founded, media reports said on Friday.

However, Campbell insisted she had not engaged in any financial misconduct or misused the charity for personal gain during its operation, the reports said.

Fashion for Relief did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment and Campbell could not be reached late on Friday in London.

She “may not have been as actively engaged in the charity’s day-to-day operations as she should have been”, Campbell’s spokesperson told the Guardian, adding she had “never engaged in any form of financial misconduct”.

Last month, she was banned from being a charity trustee for five years after an inquiry found funds raised for good causes were used for spa treatments and cigarettes.

Naomi Campbell speaks during the 17th Annual Harlem's Fashion Row Fashion Show & Style Awards in New York City on September 3. Photo / Getty Images

“Naomi has never received payment for her involvement with Fashion for Relief, nor has she billed any personal expenses to the organisation,” the Guardian reported citing a statement issued on behalf of Campbell on Friday.

She founded Fashion For Relief in 2005, aiming to raise funds for humanitarian causes by staging runway shows, but the charity was removed from Britain’s list of charities this year.

An inquiry published into the organisation by the Charity Commission found multiple instances of misconduct and mismanagement, and the commission said it was banning Campbell, as well as two others, from trusteeship as a result.

Between 2016-2022, the regulator found only 8.5% of Fashion for Relief’s expenditure was directed towards charitable grants. Unauthorised payments of £290,000 ($617,682) were made to one of the trustees, while money was also spent on room service, spa treatments and cigarettes.