"She was the spider, you had to confer with her about everything."
A court heard that a mother accused of stealing more than £5 million from the prestigious Cardiff Sixth Form College she ran has been described as a “spider in a web”.
Self-styled ‘tiger mum’ Yasmin Sarwar allegedly conspired with her husband Nadeem Sarwar to steal millions of pounds from the £77,000-a-year college to fund their “lavish lifestyle” and purchase properties.
Her husband has already admitted stealing £5million from the ultra-selective school between 2008 and 2016, while accountant Ragu Sivapalan has pleaded guilty to causing an auditor’s report to contain misleading, false or deceptive information.
Yasmin Sarwar has consistently denied involvement in the alleged fraud and is accused of blaming her husband for the college’s financial misconduct.
Giving evidence at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court, former college employee Gareth Collier described Sarwar as someone who exercised considerable control over the institution’s operations.
He told the court: “She was the spider, you had to confer with her about everything. I cannot think of anything that would not go across her desk.”
He also described an incident in which he was offered cash from a brown envelope to cover expenses incurred during an overseas college trip.
Mr Collier said Nadeem Sarwar had presented him with the envelope and told him to take what he needed, but he refused because he wanted his expenses to be handled properly.
He continued: “Nadeem said, ‘Take what you need’. It was full of cash.
“I stepped backwards and went ‘woah, no’. I said ‘I want to do this properly. You just need to pay me properly’.
“I felt awkward. I felt strange. Like I was not doing what was expected of me.”
Mr Collier’s concerns about the college’s finances deepened after he spotted Lloyd’s bank statements in Yasmin Sarwar’s office.
He said the statements showed repeated £25,000 payments to Nadeem Sarwar, carrying the reference ‘Naz agents commission’.
Mr Collier questioned the payments and raised his concerns with Sarwar.
According to Mr Collier, Sarwar responded: “Oh that’s Nadeem. He is in Malaysia and he is taking money out of the college using his debit card.”
She also told him she was “worried about the future of the college” and claimed she would be left with nothing.
Mr Collier subsequently brought in an independent bursar to examine the college’s finances, which he believed were in a “mess”. His concerns ultimately led to an investigation into the institution’s accounts.
The court heard that the alleged financial misconduct included the couple allegedly using the money to buy expensive items for their home.
Two grand pianos were among the purchases. A £2,688 Kawai piano was delivered to the college, while a second, costing £13,312, was sent to the Sarwar family home in the affluent Cyncoed area of Cardiff.
The alleged spending also included a £30,000 gold Rolex and £23,000 earrings.
Prosecutors also allege that Sarwar established “sham companies” to divert substantial sums of money away from her husband after their relationship deteriorated.
Mark Cotter KC previously described Sarwar as a central participant in the alleged fraud, arguing that she refused to accept responsibility for the college’s financial affairs.
Mr Cotter said: “Yasmin Sarwar was a willful, intelligent and manipulative woman who was a willing participant in the fraudulent activity taking place in the college.
“Yasmin Sarwar will accept in this trial that not everything that happened regarding the college’s finances was squeaky clean.
“As I have said, we understand she will blame Nadeem Sarwar for any failings. The prosecution will assert that both Nadeem Sarwar and Yasmin Sarwar are responsible.”
Mr Cotter also alleged: “Yasmin Sarwar and her then husband treated the college as their own personal piggy bank.
“They raided the funds that college generated to fund their own lavish lifestyles and thereby defrauded the charity.”
“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.”
The court heard the couple later appointed Sivapalan as a “new, less rigorous accountant”, who allegedly accepted their financial information at “face value” and produced reports containing false information.
Sivapalan 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 admitted stealing £5 million from Cardiff Sixth Form College between February 19, 2008 and October 31, 2016.
Yasmin Sarwar, of Cyncoed, denies nine charges of theft and fraud relating to more than £5 million between 2008 and 2016.
The trial continues.
