'Tiger mum' accused of stealing £5million from top sixth form college blames her husband, court hears

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.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'.Mr Sarwar has admitted stealing £5million from Cardiff Sixth Form College between 2008 and 2016.But his wife and fellow director denies nine theft and fraud charges – and 'continues to blame Nadeem for everything', Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard.An investigation was sparked following concerns raised by staff over the college's finances.Ms Sarwar immediately blamed her husband for 'taking money out of the college', prosecutor Mark Cotter KC said.She admitted its finances were not 'squeaky clean', but refused to take any responsibility for any wrongdoing, the court heard.The prosecution 'understands' that she will blame her husband 'for any failings,' Mr Cotter told 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... he has admitted stealing £5million from Cardiff Sixth Form College between February 2008 and October 2016.But he added: 'The prosecution will assert that both Nadeem Sarwar and Yasmin Sarwar are responsible.'The court has heard that the Sarwars set up a board of 11 trustees, including four members who were related to the 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'.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'.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'.The couple registered the college as a charity before allegedly stealing millions of pounds to buy and renovate properties.Mr Cotter has previously told jurors how the couple '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,' he added. 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''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.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.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 ten weeks, continues.