A wife blames her husband for stealing £5million from Britain's top A-level sixth form college when in reality she was setting up 'sham companies' to hide the cash, a court heard today.
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court → blame → cash
Self-styled 'Tiger Mum' Yasmin Sarwar, 45, and her husband Nadeem, 50, set up the private school as a charity before allegedly raiding accounts to fund their 'lavish lifestyle'.
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Sarwar → style → lifestyle
Mr Sarwar has admitted stealing £5million from Cardiff Sixth Form College between 2008 and 2016.
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Sarwar → admit → 2008
But his wife and fellow director denies nine theft and fraud charges – and 'continues to blame Nadeem for everything', Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard.
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Court → deny → everything
An investigation was sparked following concerns raised by staff over the college's finances.
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investigation → spark → finances
Ms Sarwar immediately blamed her husband for 'taking money out of the college', prosecutor Mark Cotter KC said.
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KC → blame → college
She admitted its finances were not 'squeaky clean', but refused to take any responsibility for any wrongdoing, the court heard.
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court → admit → wrongdoing
The prosecution 'understands' that she will blame her husband 'for any failings,' Mr Cotter told jurors.
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Cotter → understand → jurors
Yasmin Sarwar, 48, is on trial accused of stealing more than £5million from Cardiff Sixth Form College, which she set up with her husband Nadeem, in order to fund their 'lavish lifestyle'
Nadeem Sarwar, 50, outside court...
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she → accuse → court
he has admitted stealing £5million from Cardiff Sixth Form College between February 2008 and October 2016.
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he → admit → February
But he added: 'The prosecution will assert that both Nadeem Sarwar and Yasmin Sarwar are responsible.'
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Sarwar → add → ?
The court has heard that the Sarwars set up a board of 11 trustees, including four members who were related to the couple.
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who → hear → couple
Mr Cotter said 'financial decisions were not being made by the trustees' but were instead being made by the Sarwars, 'including the setting of their very substantial salaries'.
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decisions → say → salaries
The court heard the couple claimed the trustees were meeting 'four to six times a year' but that the minutes did not support this – and some even appeared to have been 'falsified'.
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some → hear → this
The court previously heard Yasmin Sarwar began tutoring A-level students before she set up the 'top-performing' Cardiff Sixth Form College, gaining 'international recognition'.
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she → hear → recognition
The couple registered the college as a charity before allegedly stealing millions of pounds to buy and renovate properties.
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couple → register → properties
Mr Cotter has previously told jurors how the couple 'treated the college as their own personal piggy bank'.
'
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couple → tell → bank
They raided the funds that college generated to fund their own lavish lifestyles and thereby defrauded the charity,' he added.
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he → raid → charity
Top-performing Cardiff Sixth Form College attracted students from all over the world - but the private school's directors Yasmin and Nadeem Sarwar allegedly treated it 'as their own personal piggy bank'
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directors → perform → bank
So relentless and widespread was their assault on the charitable funds that it proved impossible for the accountants retained by the college, to produce proper audited accounts.
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accountants → prove → accounts
'
The court heard the couple hired Ragu Sivapalan, 41, as a 'new, less rigorous accountant' who took what they said at 'face value' to report false information.
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they → hear → information
Mr Cotter added: 'Yasmin Sarwar was a wilful, intelligent and manipulative woman who was a willing participant in the fraudulent activity taking place in the college.'
Accountant Sivapalan, of Penylan, Cardiff, has pleaded guilty to causing an auditor's report on a company's annual accounts to include misleading, false or deceptive information between January 2013 and July 2016.
Nadeem Sarwar has admitted stealing £5million from Cardiff Sixth Form College between February 19, 2008 and October 31, 2016.
Yasmin Sarwar, of Cyncoed, Cardiff, denies nine theft and fraud charges between 2008 and 2016 totalling more than £5million.
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Sarwar → add → 5million
The college had more than 300 students on its register and attracts children from all around the world, including Albania and China.
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college → have → Albania
The trial, due to last ten weeks, continues.
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trial → continue → weeks
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