Key facts
- Naomi Campbell has won a legal challenge to overturn a five-year ban on serving as a charity trustee.
- A tribunal found Campbell was 'deceived' by co-trustee Bianka Hellmich.
- Fashion for Relief, Campbell's charity, faced an investigation for serious financial mismanagement.
- Funds were reportedly used for luxury expenses, including a five-star hotel stay, spa treatments, and cigarettes.
- Hellmich was disqualified for nine years, and Veronica Chou for four years, while Campbell's ban was overturned.
- Campbell alleged identity fraud, forged documents, and fake email accounts were used by Hellmich.
Supermodel Naomi Campbell has successfully overturned a five-year ban imposed by the Charity Commission that prevented her from serving as a charity trustee. A tribunal ruled on Thursday that Campbell had been 'deceived' by fellow trustee Bianka Hellmich regarding the mismanagement of funds at Campbell's poverty-relief charity, Fashion for Relief.
The Charity Commission's investigation had uncovered serious financial mismanagement, finding that donated money was used for expenses including Campbell's stay at a five-star hotel in Cannes, spa treatments, room service, and cigarettes. However, the tribunal found that the most serious issues, including unauthorised payments to Hellmich and misuse of funds, resulted from Hellmich's conduct and were concealed from Campbell.
Campbell had argued that she was misled and impersonated, alleging that forged documents and fake email accounts were used without her knowledge. She stated her "only mistake" was trusting Hellmich, whom she accused of forging her signature and lying about her credentials. Hellmich was disqualified for nine years, while Veronica Chou received a four-year ban.
The tribunal acknowledged that Campbell shared responsibility for the charity failing to file its accounts on time but concluded this did not make her unfit to be a trustee given the "sustained deception" she faced. The alleged fraud has also been referred to the police.