(Photo by Antoine Flament/Getty Images)
October 4, 2026
The ruling clears the supermodel to serve as a charity trustee in England and Wales
Supermodel and entrepreneur Naomi Campbell has successfully challenged a five-year ban on serving as a charity trustee in England and Wales after a tribunal determined she had been deceived by a fellow trustee at her now-defunct nonprofit, Fashion for Relief.
Campbell founded Fashion for Relief in 2005 to raise money for humanitarian causes through high-profile fashion events and runway shows. But the organization came under scrutiny from the U.K. Charity Commission, which opened an investigation in 2021 that found “multiple instances of misconduct and/or mismanagement,” including the use of charitable funds for expenses connected to Campbell’s 2018 stay at a five-star hotel near Cannes. The regulator also found that another trustee, Bianka Hellmich, received about £290,000 in unauthorized payments described as consultancy fees. The charity was ultimately dissolved and removed from the register in 2024.
Campbell, however, maintained that she did not know about the improper spending. During the tribunal hearing, she described her “only mistake” as trusting Hellmich.
“I don’t look at it as a failure, I look at it as me trusting someone that I knew, someone that was a lawyer,” Campbell said, according to The Associated Press.
The three-judge tribunal agreed that Campbell had been deceived. It found that Hellmich used forged documents and misled professional advisers and the Charity Commission. The tribunal also concluded that Campbell was not responsible for the inappropriate use of the charity’s resources or unjustified expenses during her hotel stay.
Campbell was not entirely cleared of governance shortcomings. The tribunal found that she shared ultimate responsibility for Fashion for Relief’s failure to maintain proper minutes and file accounts on time. However, judges determined those failures did not make her unfit to serve as a trustee. Following the decision, Campbell said she was grateful to have the opportunity to present her side of the story.
“I’m so grateful to the tribunal and the judges for taking the time to hear my side, look at the evidence and see the truth of what happened,” she said in a statement.
The Charity Commission said it is considering whether the ruling has “any wider implications for our work.” The regulator previously recovered more than £344,000 and protected an additional £98,000 in charitable funds during its investigation. Nearly £250,000 was ultimately directed to other charities or used to settle outstanding obligations.
For celebrity founders and entrepreneurs entering the nonprofit space, the case highlights a straightforward business lesson: A recognizable name can open doors, but strong financial controls, documentation, and independent oversight still matter.
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