Naomi Campbellâs fellow charity trustee âcarried out deception against herâ
The British supermodel was disqualified from being a charity trustee for five years after a probe into Fashion for Relief, which she founded.
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British supermodel Naomi Campbell has alleged in an appeal against a Charity Commission ban that her fellow trustee carried out a âconcerted deceptionâ against her.
It was revealed last year that the 54-year-old had been disqualified from being a charity trustee for five years after the watchdog â which regulates charities in England and Wales â found serious mismanagement of funds at Fashion for Relief, which she founded.
This included using charity funds to pay for her stay at a five-star hotel in Cannes, France, as well as spa treatments, room service and cigarettes.
From the further documents that have now been provided by the commission there is significant further evidence of motive on the part of (at least) Ms Hellmich for the concerted deception of Ms Campbell
Andrew Westwood KC
Campbell was one of three of the charityâs trustees to be disqualified as a result of the probe, with Bianka Hellmich disqualified for nine years, and Veronica Chou for four years.
The model has launched an appeal against her ban, claiming she was a âvictim of fraud and forgeryâ â including a fake email account said to have been used to impersonate her in communications with lawyers.
Her case came before a tribunal on Friday in which lawyers for her and for the Commission variously applied for disclosure of documents.
In written arguments for Campbell, barrister Andrew Westwood KC said: âMs Campbell says that the (disqualification) order was wrongly made because she was not able adequately, or at all, to deal with issues that arose with the running of Fashion For Relief and/or present her proper and accurate position during the process which led to the making of the order.
âThat was so as a result of deception on the part of, at least, her co-trustee Ms Bianka Hellmich.â
Mr Westwood added: âFrom the further documents that have now been provided by the commission there is significant further evidence of motive on the part of, at least, Ms Hellmich for the concerted deception of Ms Campbell, both in relation to the commissionâs inquiry that led to the making of the order and in the running of the charity more broadly.
âIn particular, the documents appear to show that during the period that the charity was operational (2016-2021), Ms Hellmich was paid in excess of £500,000 out of charity funds.â
An important feature of the appellantâs grounds of appeal is that broadly she does not dispute that there was misconduct/mismanagement in the administration of the Charity but instead she contends that she was unaware of the misconduct/mismanagement due to wholesale deceit being perpetrated against her by a fellow trustee, Ms Bianka Hellmich
Faisel Sadiq
He told the court on Friday: âIt is Ms Campbellâs case that because of the deception that was practised on her⦠she has been disqualified without having the opportunity to respond to the reasons for disqualification and without having had sight of the documents relied on by the commission in taking that action.â
He argued that was âfundamentally unfairâ, and applied for disclosure of the entirety of the commissionâs investigation file, but this was rejected â with the judge ordering the commission to disclose a smaller amount of only relevant documents.
Faisel Sadiq, for the Charity Commission, said in written argument that Campbell is âpositively asserting that she was the victim of fraud and forgeryâ.
âAn important feature of the appellantâs grounds of appeal is that broadly she does not dispute that there was misconduct/mismanagement in the administration of the charity, but instead she contends that she was unaware of the misconduct/mismanagement due to wholesale deceit being perpetrated against her by a fellow trustee, Ms Bianka Hellmich,â he said.
âIndeed, the appellant goes so far as alleging that her signature on a document had been forged.â
Mr Sadiq told the tribunal on Friday that Campbellâs position âis not to criticise the commissionâ, but to say that it was a fraud and that her case in a nutshell is: âI knew nothing about it, I was a figurehead.â
He successfully applied for Campbell to disclose communications between herself and her fellow trustees.
Naomi Campbell is challenging the findings of the Charity Commission report (Aaron Chown/PA)
PA Archive
The court heard neither Ms Hellmich nor Ms Chou have launched appeals against their disqualifications.
In a statement on Wednesday, Campbell said: âI am grateful to the tribunal for allowing me to appeal the Charity Commissionâs findings after considering the evidence I have submitted. Ever since the commissionâs report, I have fought to uncover the facts. What has been unearthed so far is shocking.
âI want to shine a light on how easy it is to fake identities online and prevent anybody else going through what I have been through.
âI want to ensure that those responsible are held accountable and justice is done.â
She said this was âjust the beginningâ and reiterated that she has ânever undertaken philanthropic work for personal gain, nor will I ever do soâ.
A Charity Commission spokesperson said: âThe commission notes the tribunalâs initial ruling and the judgeâs comment that the case will require Ms Campbell to prove very serious allegations of wrongdoing against a fellow trustee.
âThese are significant allegations for the courts to consider, and we will continue to co-operate fully with the tribunal as it does so.â
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