As reported by Mail Online, official records indicated that the charity spent over £1.6 million on a lavish gala in Cannes while donating only £5,000 to charitable causes over a span of 15 months.
In April, the Charity Commission announced the removal of Campbell’s charity from the UK charity register while it investigated allegations of misconduct. Today, the Commission released the findings of its statutory inquiry into Fashion For Relief, concluding that the charity suffered from poor governance and inadequate financial oversight.
Campbell, 54, has been barred from serving as a trustee for five years, while former colleagues Bianka Hellmich and Veronica Chou received bans of nine and four years, respectively.
The model established the charity in 2005 after being inspired by her friend Nelson Mandela to “use [her] voice” for good. The organization claimed to have raised over £11 million, primarily through high-profile fundraising events held globally, including in New York, Mumbai, and Moscow.
In 2021, concerns emerged regarding the actual funds allocated to those in need after the Mayor’s Fund for London filed an official complaint, claiming the charity owed it £50,000. This led to a statutory inquiry by the Charity Commission in November of that year.
Today, the Commission reported that its investigation recovered more than £344,000, which has been used for donations to two other charities and to settle Fashion For Relief’s outstanding debts.
The inquiry revealed that from April 2016 to July 2022, only 8.5 percent of the charity’s overall spending was directed towards charitable grants. The report indicated that some fundraising expenditures constituted misconduct or mismanagement by the charity’s trustees.
For instance, the inquiry highlighted a €14,800 (£12,300) flight from London to Nice in 2018 for the transfer of art and jewelry and a €9,400 (£7,800) expenditure on a three-night stay at a five-star hotel in Cannes for Campbell. In these instances, the trustees failed to demonstrate that these expenses were cost-effective and appropriately utilized charity resources.
The inquiry found no evidence that the trustees had reviewed the charity’s operational model to ensure that fundraising methods were in the organization’s best interest and that costs were reasonable relative to the funds raised.
The charity had organized fundraising events for Save the Children Fund and the Mayor’s Fund for London, but the trustees failed to manage these partnerships effectively.
Additionally, the Commission noted unauthorized payments totaling £290,000 for consultancy services to trustee Ms. Hellmich, which violated the charity’s constitution. The charity’s funds were also managed by external advisors rather than being held in a dedicated bank account under Fashion For Relief’s name.
Tim Hopkins, the Charity Commission’s deputy director for specialist investigations and standards, stated, “Trustees are legally required to make decisions that serve their charity’s best interests and to fulfill their legal duties. Our inquiry found that the trustees of this charity failed to do so, leading to our decision to disqualify them.”
He added that the investigation and the appointment of interim managers to oversee the charity had resulted in the recovery of £344,000 and the protection of an additional £98,000 in charitable funds.
The trustees included Campbell, her key aide Ms. Chou, who is an heiress to a £2 billion textile fortune, and socialite and lawyer Ms. Hellmich. Ms. Chou resigned from the charity shortly after the Commission began its investigation in 2021.
