"Never enriched"

Campbell defends herself against charity ban

Naomi Campbell is fighting the accusations that she is responsible for mismanagement at her charity organization. She has "never engaged in philanthropy for personal gain".(Bild: APA/AFP/Anne-Christine POUJOULAT)

Top model Naomi Campbell (54) is defending herself against accusations that she is responsible for mismanagement at her charity organization. She wants to take legal action against the fact that she is no longer allowed to chair a charity in England and Wales for five years, as reported by the British news agency PA.

"As I have said before, I have never engaged in philanthropy for personal gain, nor will I ever do so," Campbell said ahead of a court hearing on Friday.

Accused of misconduct
A supervisory authority had investigated the Fashion for Relief organization. Campbell and two other former board members were accused of misconduct and mismanagement of donations. The model is said to have spent three nights in a luxury hotel in Cannes at the organization's expense for 9400 euros and to have used spa treatments and room service for more than 7900 euros.

In addition, no minutes were kept of meetings and decisions, for example, as required for non-profit organizations. The organization, which has since been dissolved, is also said to have only passed on a small portion of its proceeds for charitable purposes, as the authorities found.

Campbell calls revelation shocking
According to the PA news agency, Campbell's representatives are now claiming that the documents presented give a false impression of Campbell's involvement. A false email account had been used to impersonate Campbell in exchanges with lawyers. The model was therefore unaware of the allegations and had no opportunity to respond.

"What has come to light so far is shocking," Campbell said in a statement, which was also quoted by the BBC, Times and Guardian. She wants to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.