Search Results - Batmanghelidjh, Camila

Camila Batmanghelidjh

Camila Batmanghelidjh CBE (; ; 1963 – 1 January 2024) was an Iranian-Belgian author, psychotherapist, and charity executive based in the United Kingdom. She was the founder of the charity Kids Company (closed in 2015) and Place2Be, charities that worked with marginalised children and young people at risk, in inner London, Bristol and Liverpool.

Between 1996 and 2015, Batmanghelidjh became a high-profile personality, fêted by celebrities and politicians for her work with Kids Company. In 2007, ''The Guardian'' described her as "one of the most powerful advocates for vulnerable children in the country". She was dubbed the "Angel of Peckham".

In 2015, amid allegations of mismanagement and the squandering of funds, Batmanghelidjh stepped down as the charity's chief executive, and Kids Company was closed. The official receiver's allegations that Batmanghelidjh and seven Kids Company trustees were unfit to hold directorships were dismissed in February 2021 in a high court judgement delivered by Mrs Justice Falk.

On 20 August 2015, the Charity Commission launched a statutory inquiry into Keeping Kids Company. However, this was placed on hold pending the outcome of the High Court judgement. The High Court rejected claims of mismanagement and exonerated the charity's directors and trustees. The Charity Commissioners' report was finally published in February 2022. The Commission made a finding of "mismanagement in the administration of the charity" over its repeated failure to pay creditors, including its workers and HMRC, on time. Provided by Wikipedia