Naomi Campbell’s charity, Fashion for Relief, has been reported to a regulatory watchdog by Unicef, following claims that it was operating in partnership with the global children’s charity. Unicef UK informed BBC News that it has never partnered with Fashion for Relief and has not received any funds from a 2019 event that was said to benefit the organization.
The Charity Commission confirmed that it received a “serious incident report” from Unicef in 2022, leading to scrutiny of Fashion for Relief’s financial practices. Last week, Campbell was banned from serving as a charity trustee after the regulator found that funds had been used for luxury hotels and spa treatments.
Neither Naomi Campbell nor Fashion for Relief has provided a comment regarding Unicef’s complaint. The charity held a catwalk show and auction at the British Museum in 2019, which it claimed would raise funds for both Unicef and the Mayor’s Fund for London. However, Unicef UK stated, “We have never held any official partnership with Fashion for Relief and we have never received any funds from the 2019 event.”
The Guardian, which first reported the situation, also raised questions about Campbell’s designation as a Unicef “envoy” during an official meeting in 2018 with then-foreign secretary Boris Johnson. In response, Unicef clarified: “Naomi Campbell has never held an official role or title with Unicef or Unicef UK and we are in touch with the FCDO [Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office] to understand what happened.” They emphasized that an official ambassadorial role “comes after many years of commitment and support to Unicef.”
Unicef takes fundraising compliance “very seriously” and reported Fashion for Relief to the Charity Commission “as per our statutory requirements.” A spokesperson for the Charity Commission stated that Unicef’s report was evaluated as part of a broader inquiry into Fashion for Relief.
This inquiry, which published its findings last week, examined complaints from the Mayor’s Fund for London and the Save the Children Fund, both of which alleged they were owed money from Fashion for Relief events. The investigation found that Fashion for Relief had not disbursed the expected amounts, instead using funds for hotels, security, and even cigarettes for Campbell, along with unauthorized payments to one of her fellow trustees.
As a result of these findings, Fashion for Relief has been removed from the register of charities, and Campbell has been banned from involvement in charitable activities for five years. “I’ve just found out today about the findings, and I am extremely concerned,” Campbell, 54, told the AP news agency on Thursday. She added that she was not the person “in control” of the charity.
Two other trustees, Bianka Hellmich and Veronica Chou, received bans of nine years and four years, respectively.
