Three people deny multimillion-pound fraud at Welsh sixth form college

Three people have pleaded not guilty in connection with a multimillion-pound fraud at a leading Welsh sixth form college.

Two men and a woman face a series of charges in connection with suspected financial irregularities at Cardiff Sixth Form College between 2012 and 2016.

Yasmin Anjum Sarwar, 43, from Cyncoed, Cardiff, Nadeem Sarwar, 48, from Pentwyn, Cardiff and Ragu Sivapalan, 39, from Penylan, Cardiff appeared before Cardiff Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

Both Mr and Mrs Sarwar denied nine separate fraud and theft offences worth more than £5 million.

Sivapalan pleaded not guilty to false accounting between 2013 and 2016.

Wayne Mortimer, the head magistrate, sent the case to Cardiff Crown Court for a pre-trial hearing.

He said: “The case between the three parties will be adjourned until May 6 at Cardiff Crown Court at 9am in the morning.”

All three were released on bail, with a condition that Mr and Mrs Sarwar must not contact each other.

The college, a fee-paying school for 16 to 18-year-olds, regularly records some of the highest A-level results in the country.

In 2016, it was the subject of the BBC documentary Britain’s Brainiest School.

The college has changed ownership since the alleged fraud, with the charity that previously oversaw it now called the Cardiff Educational Endowment Trust, which operates as a grant making charity.