'Tiger mum' accused of stealing £5million from Britain's top sixth-form college ran it like a 'spider in a web', court hears

A mother who is accused of stealing £5million from the top sixth-form college she ran has been described as a 'spider in a web', a court has heard.Self-styled 'tiger mum' Yasmin Sarwar, 45, is accused of raiding accounts at Cardiff Sixth Form College with her husband in a bid to fund a 'lavish lifestyle' and renovate properties.Her spouse Nadeem, 50, has already admitted stealing £5million from the ultra-selective £77,000-a-year school, which they ran as a charity, between 2008 and 2016.Accountant Ragu Sivapalan has also pleaded guilty to causing an auditor's report on a company's accounts to include misleading, false or deceptive information. Sarwar has consistently denied involvement in the scheme and continues to 'blame' her husband, according to prosecutors.But member of staff Gareth Collier has told Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court that Sarwar made many of the decisions at the school, describing her as a 'spider in a web'.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.'The teacher said that when he asked for receipts to be reimbursed, after working for the college overseas, Sarwar's husband came with a brown envelope filled with cash – which he refused. Yasmin Sarwar, 45, is accused of raiding accounts at Cardiff Sixth Form College with her husband in a bid to to fund a 'lavish lifestyle' and renovate properties Her spouse Nadeem, 50, has already admitted stealing £5m from the ultra-selective £77,000-a-year school, which they ran as a charity, between 2008 and 2016 (pictured outside court last month)Sarwar and her husband then allegedly appeared from her office with chunks of cash each. Sarwar began tutoring A-Level students before she set up the self-described 'top performing' Cardiff Sixth Form College, gaining 'international recognition'.The couple registered the college as a charity before allegedly stealing millions of pounds to buy properties and live a 'lavish lifestyle'. Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard an investigation was sparked following concerns raised by staff member Gareth Collier over the college's finances.Mr Collier said he was employed as Head of Pastoral Services by the Sarwars before he became suspicious of their spending.Mr Collier said he was told to take his own expenses for an overseas trip from a 'brown paper bag filled with cash'.He said: '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.'The court heard Mr Collier's suspicions grew after he went to Yasmin Sarwar's office where he spotted Lloyd's bank statements.He said the statements showed repeated £25,000 payments to Nadeem with the reference 'Naz agents commission'.Mr Collier said he felt 'shocked and suspicious' over the payments to 'wheeler dealer' Nadeem Sarwar.He said: 'I raised it with Yasmin with shock. It was huge amounts of money that should not have been paid out.'Mr Collier said Yasmin Sarwar told him: 'Oh that's Nadeem. He is in Malaysia and he is taking money out of the college using his debit card.' Sarwar began tutoring A-Level students before she set up the self-described 'top performing' Cardiff Sixth Form College (pictured), gaining 'international recognition'The court heard she told Mr Collier she was 'worried about the future of the college' and lied that 'she would be left with nothing'.Mr Collier said: 'This was a huge leakage and we had to do something immediately.'The court heard Yasmin Sarwar had set up 'sham companies' in a bid to 'divert huge sums of money away from her husband' after their relationship went sour.Mr Collier called in an independent bursar to check the school's finances after believing they were a 'mess'.The Sarnwars' illicit spending is also alleged to have extended to large luxury items for their home, including two grand pianos.A £2,688 Kawai piano was subsequently delivered to the college building, but a £13,312 Kawai was delivered to the Sarwar family home address in the upmarket Cyncoed area of Cardiff.A jury previously heard that the funds were also allegedly spent on a £30,000 yellow gold Rolex, which was bought from the Watches of Switzerland in Cardiff's St David's shopping centre in December 2013.Sarwar took the newly bought watch when she went into the nearby Pravins jewellery shop next, looking for earrings.The shop assistant 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 she showed the assistant the Rolex and told her she had just got a 'good discount' on the timepiece.At the store Sarwars bought a pair of platinum and diamond ear studs for £23,000. Prosecutor Mark Cotter KC previously said Ms Sarwar refused to take any responsibility for any wrongdoing over the college's finances.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 added: '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 hired Ragu Sivapalan, 41, as a 'new, less rigorous accountant' who took what they said at 'face value' to report false information.Accountant Sivapalan, of Penylan, Cardiff, 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 £5m from Cardiff Sixth Form College between 19 February 2008 and 31 October 2016.Yasmin Sarwar, of Cyncoed, Cardiff, denies nine theft and fraud charges between 2008 and 2016 totalling more than £5m.The college had more than 300 students on its register and attracts children from all around the world, including Albania and China.The trial, due to last 10 weeks, continues.