The fashion charity established by supermodel Naomi Campbell has been under investigation by the charities watchdog over its misconduct concerns relating to its management and finances.
Campbell founded Fashion for Relief in 2005 to raise funds for children living in poverty and adversity around the world, and has raised millions over the years for good causes through its annual charity fashion show.
The Charity Commission is looking into whether Campbell and her fellow trustees have properly exercised their legal duties under charity law and will investigate payments made by the charity to one of its trustees.
It will look at charity's spending and management of Fashion for Relief by its trustees, including potential misconduct and mismanagement and failure to file statutory accounts on time.
Campbell is one of three trustees of Fashion for Relief, along with Bianka Hellmich and Veronica Sylvia Wing Wai Au Chou. All are listed as having been trustees of the charity since 2015.
Fashion for Relief has held glitzy fashion events for years to raise money for its charity partners. In 2019, it worked with Sadiq Khan's Mayor's Fund for London to support low-income youngsters with skills and training.
The celebrities attending were Campbell, Naomie Harris, Pierce Brosnan, Skepta and Alexa Chung.
The charity has yet to publish its 2020 accounts, which are more than 178 days late, according to the Charity Commission's online register.
The charity raised 1,722, 000 in the year to July 2019 through sponsorships, most of it being raised through the charity's last set of published accounts. 1,606, 000 of that was spent on a charity event and paying for PRs and other staff, according to the accounts. Just 5,515 seems to have given to good causes.
The accounts for the year 2019 reveal unusually large trustee expenses. Hellmich was paid 77,000 in consulting fees and 15,942 in travel expenses. The charity spent 107,000 on trustees fees and 23,000 on expenses the previous year.
The Charity Commission for England has been in private discussions with Fashion for Relief for more than a year about a number of regulatory concerns, including late filing of accounts, potential conflicts of interests and weaknesses around financial controls.
The regulator hasn't been able to satisfy its concerns after a compliance issue was escalated into a full inquiry by the commission.
Fashion for Relief has been approached for comment.