Naomi Campbell overturns five-year charity trustee ban

Naomi Campbell has won a legal challenge against a five-year ban on serving as a charity trustee after a tribunal found that serious misconduct at Fashion for Relief had been concealed from her.

The Charity Commission, which regulates charities in England and Wales, disqualified Campbell in 2024 following an investigation into the charity she founded. The commission accused her of abdicating her responsibilities amid governance failures and misuse of funds, including spending on a five-star Cannes hotel, spa treatments, room service and cigarettes. It also identified £316,000 in unauthorised fees and travel expenses paid to fellow trustee Bianka Hellmich.

In a judgment issued Thursday, the tribunal said the most serious misconduct—including unauthorised payments, poor financial management and misuse of funds—resulted from Hellmich’s conduct and was hidden from Campbell. The judges found that Hellmich used forged documents and deceived Campbell, professional advisers and the Charity Commission.

The tribunal said Campbell was not involved in and did not know about that conduct. Although she shared responsibility for the charity’s failure to file accounts on time, the judges concluded that this did not make her unfit to serve as a trustee, given the sustained deception.

Campbell told a four-day hearing in June that her “only mistake” was trusting Hellmich, whom she accused of forging her signature and falsely claiming credentials as a charity lawyer. Hellmich previously told The Guardian there was “absolutely no truth” to Campbell’s allegations. Hellmich was disqualified for nine years, while another trustee, Veronica Chou, received a four-year ban.