A London tribunal has overturned a five-year ban on Naomi Campbell serving as a charity trustee, concluding that she was unaware of financial misconduct at the charity she founded. Campbell, a well-known supermodel, established Fashion for Relief in 2005 to raise funds for humanitarian causes through fashion events.

The charity was removed from the Charity Commission’s register in 2024 following allegations of mismanagement, and Campbell was subsequently banned from acting as a trustee. The commission’s investigation revealed that funds intended for charitable purposes had been misused, including payments for personal expenses such as spa treatments, cigarettes, and room service during a stay at a luxury hotel in southern France in May 2018.

Campbell maintained that she had no knowledge of these unauthorized expenditures and claimed she was misled by another trustee responsible for handling the charity’s finances. The tribunal acknowledged that while Campbell bore ultimate responsibility for some administrative failings—including the charity’s failure to maintain proper minutes and submit timely accounts—these issues did not render her unfit to act as a trustee.

The ruling allows Campbell to resume trustee duties, reflecting the tribunal’s finding that the financial irregularities were concealed from her and that she was not directly involved in the misuse of charity funds.