Naomi Campbell asks for 'respect' at hearing to appeal her charity ban

Naomi Campbell says she had been "deceived" as she gave evidence to appeal a five-year ban on being a charity trustee.

The 56-year-old supermodel is challenging the results of an investigation into Fashion For Relief and asked for questions to be "respectful".

An inquiry into the charity, which Campbell founded, discovered that between April 2016 and July 2022, just 8.5% of the charity's overall expenditure was on charitable grants.

In a statement before the hearing, she said her own investigation had revealed "identity fraud and deception", adding that it "helps uncover why most of the funds weren't used as intended".

She claimed she was a "victim of fraud and forgery" - including a fake email account said to have been used to impersonate her in communications with lawyers.

Fashion For Relief was dissolved and removed from the register of charities in 2024, amid allegations that its funds had been used to pay for a five-star hotel stay in Cannes, spa treatments, and even cigarettes.

Naomi Campbell, Bianka Hellmich and Veronica Chou, who were all trustees, were disqualified by the Charity Commission, which registers and regulates charities in England and Wales.

On Tuesday, Campbell gave evidence to a tribunal in central London in an effort to overturn her ban and said her "only mistake" was trusting Bianka Hellmich, who she alleges forged her signature and lied about her credentials as a charity lawyer.

The tribunal has previously heard claims from Campbell's legal team that from 2016 to 2021, Hellmich appeared to have been paid in excess of £500,000 from charity funds.

Campbell rejected a suggestion that she should have checked Hellmich's credentials, saying Hellmich "came across as a lawyer" and worked in "official positions".

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Judge Joe Neville intervened during exchanges between Faisel Sadiq, for the Charity Commission, and Campbell as he cross-examined her.

Campbell said: "I'm here because I have been deceived, you are here because you have been deceived, so let's both be respectful to each other."

She said she "loved" the charity work and said "I'm already famous enough" at the suggestion that she might do it for "the PR".

Campbell accused the commission of also failing to check Hellmich's credentials.

"I'm one person, I don't have a management team, the Charity Commission is a government body. Did you do your due diligence? No," she said.

The forgery and fraud alleged against Hellmich has been referred to the police by Campbell's team and by the Charity Commission, the tribunal has heard.

The tribunal continues.

(c) Sky News 2026: Naomi Campbell asks for 'respect' at hearing to appeal her charity ban