Naomi Campbell Wins Appeal Against U.K. Charity Ban, Free to Resume Fundraising
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| Naomi Campbell (British supermodel) |
Naomi Campbell is free to return to charity fundraising after successfully appealing a five-year ban on serving as a charity trustee. Her lawyer, Michelle Duncan, a partner at Joseph, Hage, Aaronson and Bremen, said the U.K. tribunal's decision was a "significant vindication" for the model and charity fundraiser.
In 2024, the Charity Commission, the U.K. government department for England and Wales, disqualified Campbell and her colleagues from serving as charity trustees. The decision followed an investigation into the mismanagement of funds at Fashion for Relief, the organization Campbell founded in 2005. The ban was set to last five years, but Campbell was granted permission to appeal the ruling before a U.K. tribunal in 2025.
Fashion for Relief raised money to help lift people out of poverty. It had been under investigation since 2021 over its handling of funds and was dissolved in March 2024.
Duncan said: "Having won the right to an appeal, we are pleased that the tribunal, after a thorough review of the evidence, has found in Ms. Campbell's favor and overturned her disqualification in full."
She added: "We are delighted that the tribunal has now found Ms. Campbell's account to be truthful, and that her conduct as a trustee of Fashion for Relief was entirely honest and professional. They recognized that she was deceived by someone she trusted, and that she is a fit and proper person to serve as a charity trustee."
Campbell said she was 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. Giving back has been part of who I am, so having that questioned hurt deeply. Now I can get back to what matters most to me: being there for the people and communities I've always wanted to serve."
Campbell had served as chairperson of Fashion for Relief until the Charity Commission identified "multiple instances of misconduct or mismanagement," alleging that only 8.5 percent of the charity's overall expenditure went toward charitable grants.
Campbell later carried out her own in-depth investigation into the scandal. She argued that certain individuals had deceived her by creating a fake email account to impersonate her in communications with her lawyers, leaving her unable to defend herself against the allegations.
