A jury trying a former college boss on allegations of fraud has heard details of spending of tens of thousands of pounds on items including luxury jewellery and pianos.
Yasmin Sarwar is accused of being a "willing participant in fraudulent activity" in connection with the running of Cardiff Sixth Form College. It is alleged that millions of pounds of college money was diverted and stolen by Sarwar and her now-former husband Nadeem Sarwar prior to the sale of the college.
Yasmin Sarwar denies any wrong and is on trial at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court. Nadeem Sarwar has admitted stealing £5m from the educational establishment and is awaiting sentence.
Transfers marked as expenses
On Thursday the jury heard details of a set of transfers of moneys between various college accounts and accounts in the names of the then couple, and between accounts in the couple's names. The court heard many of the transactions were marked as "expenses" and ran into tens of thousands of pounds.
The jury also heard about the purchase of a £30,000 yellow gold Rolex from the Watches of Switzerland in Cardiff's St David's shopping centre in December 2013 and how Yasmin Sarwar then took the newly-bought watch when she went into the nearby Pravins jewellery shop looking for earrings.
Jewellery and pianos
In a statement from the shop assistant who served the defendant she described Sarwar as being comfortable in the surroundings of the boutique and as being "very knowledgeable about fine, high-end jewellery". The jury was told Sarwar showed the assistant the Rolex and told her she had just got a "good discount" on the timepiece. Sarwar told the assistant she could do the same. The court heard a pair of platinum and diamond ear studs were bought for some £23,000.
The jury also heard details of two grand pianos bought from Gardeners Pianos in Cardiff in February 2014, with a £2,688 Kawai piano subsequently delivered to the college's Newport Road building, and a £13,312 Kawai being delivered to the Sarwar family home address in Hollybush Road in the Cyncoed area of Cardiff.
Prosecution case and background
It is the prosecution case that Sarwar was a "wilful, intelligent, and manipulative woman" who was a "willing participant in fraudulent activity". The prosecution also say that after the Sarwars' relationship "went sour" the defendant was prepared to set up sham companies "to divert huge sums of money from her husband".
The trial has previously heard from a former employee of the college who said she was told to "pull" invoices from its accounts before an inspection by the Charity Commission and described how a "hacker" was brought in to create "fake" financial information about the organisation before inspectors looked at the books.
Cardiff Sixth Form College grew out of a small group set up by self-confessed "tiger mum" Sarwar in the conservatory of her Cardiff home for tutoring sixth formers. The college grew rapidly into one of the UK's highest-performing academic institutions for A-level students.
The college was bought by Dukes Education, which runs schools and colleges in the UK, Europe, and USA, in 2018. The allegations before the court all pre-date the sale to Dukes Education.
Yasmin Sarwar, aged 45, of Hollybush Road, Cyncoed, Cardiff, denies charges of abuse of position, theft by an employee, carrying on a business of company with intent to defraud creditors, acquiring criminal property, and concealing or converting criminal property. The trial continues.
