Naomi Campbell’s 5-year ban on serving as a UK charity trustee is overturned, tell me about this news in (https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/naomi-campbell-5-year-ban-serving-charity-trustee-overturned-rcna600886)
01-10-2026
Supermodel Naomi Campbell has won a legal appeal overturning the five-year ban that prevented her from serving as a charity trustee in England and Wales.
Ground NewsBackground on the BanIn 2024, the UK’s Charity Commission disqualified Campbell following an inquiry into Fashion For Relief, an anti-poverty charity she established in 2005. The regulator’s investigation uncovered serious financial mismanagement and unauthorized expenditures, including charitable funds spent on luxury hotel stays, spa treatments, cigarettes, room service, and improper consultancy fees. As a result, the charity was dissolved and removed from the official register, and Campbell, along with two other trustees, was barred from holding trustee positions.
The Independent+ 1Why the Decision Was OverturnedA First-tier Tribunal ruled in Campbell’s favor after finding that she had been the victim of sustained deception by a fellow trustee, Bianka Hellmich.
The IndependentKey findings from the tribunal include:
Concealment and Forgery: The judges concluded that Hellmich had forged documents, misled professional advisers, and concealed unauthorized transactions and financial failings from Campbell.
The National ScotLack of Complicity: The tribunal established that Campbell had no involvement in and was unaware of the misconduct and improper spending.
The National ScotFitness to Serve: While judges noted that Campbell shared formal responsibility for late financial filings, they determined this did not render her unfit to act as a trustee given the extensive deception she had faced.
The National Scot
Campbell maintained throughout the proceedings that her only mistake had been trusting Hellmich, stating she was relieved that the tribunal recognized she had been misled alongside the regulator.
The National Scot