Naomi Campbell’s charity falsely claimed to be a UNICEF partner, the UN says

The saga of Naomi Campbell’s Fashion for Relief charity continues.

Nearly a week after it was revealed that the organization had misappropriated funds and Campbell was banned from serving as a UK charity board member for the next five years, further allegations of misconduct by the 19-year-old organization have come to light.

In 2022, the charity was the subject of a “serious” investigation by the United Nations for falsely representing itself as an envoy for global kid’s charity UNICEF, the charity Guardian reports. An investigation was launched into a 2019 celebrity charity fashion show organized by Fashion for Relief at the British Museum. At the time, Campbell’s charity claimed it was using the event to help UNICEF with fundraising, in addition to several other charities.

However, UNICEF UK has denied these claims, saying it isn’t a partner of Fashion for Relief and has not received a cent of the proceeds from the event. In 2022, UNICEF presented an incident report regarding Campbell’s charity to the committee. In the report, UNICEF expressed concerns that its brand was getting used without an appropriate contract and potentially to mislead donors.

The global organization also questioned why Campbell was named an “envoy” for UNICEF during an official government meeting with then Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson in 2018. Campbell has never held an official role at the charity.

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After news of her organization’s inappropriate actions first emerged last week, Campbell released a statement Saturday, per CBS News and Guardiancalling the report “deeply flawed.”

“First of all, I realize that as the face of Fashion for Relief, I am ultimately responsible for its conduct,” she said, adding: “Unfortunately, I was not involved in the daily functioning of the organization, I entrusted the legal and operational management to others.”

She explained that she had “instructed new advisers” to look into the matter.

“Second, I have never undertaken philanthropy for personal gain and never will,” she continued. “Contrary to media reports, I have never received compensation for participating in Fashion for Relief nor have I charged the organization with any personal expenses.”