as posted here
JOSEPH SAPIENZA
September 8, 2009 - 3:44PM
A man accused of stealing $355,000 in government funding from a WA school and siphoning the money to Pakistan has argued the money was just part of more than $1 million owed to him by the school.
Anwar Sayed, 50, was a director of Muslim Link Australia Limited, which oversaw the running of the Muslim Ladies' College on Bickley Road in Kenwick.
The school was founded and operated by Mr Sayed on land he owned.
On April 16, 2007, he instructed his younger brother and fellow company director Zubair Sayed, 33, to transfer $US300,000 ($355,000) out of the Muslim Link account into a bank account in Pakistan, to which Anwar Sayed had access.
Both men are on trial for acting dishonestly and stealing about $355,000 in public funding from the company. The prosecution claims the money, which was supposed to be used for the ongoing operation of the school, was being used to set up a sister school in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Today, Anwar Sayed's lawyer Mark Trowell, QC, told a Perth District Court jury his client denied stealing the money and acting dishonestly. He said Anwar Sayed was "legally entitled" to the funds because it was money owed to him by the school.
At the time of the transaction, Mr Trowell said Anwar Sayed was "owed much more" than $355,000, considering he had invested a total of $1.2 million in the school by cash and in the way of deferred salary and rent.
"The school started with nothing, except good will and hope," Mr Trowell said.
At one point, Anwar Sayed deposited $340,000 into the account to keep the non-profit school operational.
"The school was obliged to rely on the generosity of Anwar Sayed to survive," Mr Trowell added.
He said the school was acting in accordance with the conditions of the funds received from the Commonwealth and State governments.
The court was told Federal funding was available for "general recurrent expenditure" such as rental and salary, while State funding did not impose such conditions. The two separate avenues of public funding were not "one of the same" as the prosecution claimed, Mr Trowell said.
He added the school had acted in accordance with the terms of the grants because it was paying money for rent and remuneration for services to his client.
It was also claimed Anwar Sayed had the legal right to take the money and that he had a genuine belief that he was legally entitled to it.
Documents showing proper agreements for deferred rental and salary payments to Anwar Sayed would also be shown to the court, including an agreement between the school and Anwar Sayed for the school to pay his mortgage payments of at least $1900 per month.
"If it was not for him, the school would not be there," Mr Trowell said.
Zubair Sayed's defence lawyer Andrew Skerritt said his client did take steps to transfer the money overseas to a bank in Karachi, Pakistan, as he believed it was his brother's money and that he was entitled to it.
"He wasn't stealing any money, he was just sending it to his brother because it belonged to him," Mr Skerritt said.
The two men have admitted the overseas money transfer took place and the company received public funding for a period of time. They also admitted being directors of Muslim Link Australia Limited at the time.
The trial continues.
as posted here
Tuesday, 8 September 2009
Brothers 'stole' $355,000 in school funding, court told
as posted here
JOSEPH SAPIENZA
September 8, 2009 - 6:52AM
A school set up for Muslim girls in Kenwick had unqualified teachers, demountable classrooms, run-down equipment as well as heating and air-conditioning deficiencies just as more than $355,000 in grant money was siphoned off to a bank account in Pakistan, the Perth District Court was told yesterday.
Those funds were to help set up a sister school in Afghanistan, but State prosecutors claim the money was provided by Commonwealth and State Governments on the conditions that it was used to maintain the upkeep and quality of the school in WA.
The two men allegedly involved in the overseas funds transfer, Anwar Sayed, 50, and his younger brother, Zubair, 33, were directors of a company called Muslim Link Australia Limited - which established the Muslim Ladies College of Australia on Bickley Road in Kenwick in 2002.
Both men have been accused of stealing a total of $355,934.10 in April 2007 from the company's account and sending the funds to Pakistan.
In his opening address to the jury, prosecutor Alan Troy said Zubair Sayed went to the Commonwealth Bank branch in Cannington with a cheque to be converted into a bank draft, so the money could be sent to an account that Anwar Sayed - who was overseas at the time - had access to.
The school started receiving public funding in 2005 and continued for about two and a half years.
The court was told that as the money was coming in, it was not being spent on the school because it was in a "very poor condition".
The government agencies followed up on the grants to see how they were being spent, and the deteriorating conditions of the school were discovered.
After the third of seven government inspections of the school, the accused men then "acted in concert and depleted half the school's bank balance by withdrawing half the money", Mr Troy said.
He added the men had acted dishonestly and stole from the company when they knew the grants were intended for the Kenwick school only.
Months later, the cheque butt was located by a staff member at the school, with the butt showing the funds were intended for Anwar Sayed to set up a sister school in Kabul.
"Anwar Sayed counselled and procured his brother to get the funds," Mr Troy said.
"Each of the accused was aware of the central nature of the conditions to the grants and funds and each was aware of the transfer that took place on April 16, 2007," he said.
The State said it could not confirm where the $355,000 went, but even if it did go towards the establishment of an Afghan school, "it was utterly contrary to the conditions" attached to the distribution of public funds.
The court was told that by the date of the withdrawal, the balance in the account was $683,925.85 - a "rather more healthy" figure than the $13,000 that was in the school's coffers in January 2005.
From that date onwards, the balance "gradually increased over two and a half years" due to the public funding.
Mr Troy said while the bank account increased, the money was not being used to run the Kenwick school's operations.
He told the jury one witness would describe the "dilapidated" condition of the school later in the trial.
Teachers would also give evidence that unqualifed people would be employed to teach, while staff would need to photocopy textbooks to bring to school for students and were not paid what they were entitled to.
Staff even had to buy their own resources while the remote control for the air-conditioning was taken away from teachers to save energy in summer, Mr Troy said.
The prosecutor argued it would have been "palpably obvious to the two accused that the school required every cent at its disposal to flourish".
"It was obvious to the two accused that they were in no capacity to spend half the available funds on a school seemingly in Afghanistan, when they knew the school was not in great condition," he said.
Defence lawyers for the two men will make their opening submissions today.
The trial is set down for eight days.
as posted here
JOSEPH SAPIENZA
September 8, 2009 - 6:52AM
A school set up for Muslim girls in Kenwick had unqualified teachers, demountable classrooms, run-down equipment as well as heating and air-conditioning deficiencies just as more than $355,000 in grant money was siphoned off to a bank account in Pakistan, the Perth District Court was told yesterday.
Those funds were to help set up a sister school in Afghanistan, but State prosecutors claim the money was provided by Commonwealth and State Governments on the conditions that it was used to maintain the upkeep and quality of the school in WA.
The two men allegedly involved in the overseas funds transfer, Anwar Sayed, 50, and his younger brother, Zubair, 33, were directors of a company called Muslim Link Australia Limited - which established the Muslim Ladies College of Australia on Bickley Road in Kenwick in 2002.
Both men have been accused of stealing a total of $355,934.10 in April 2007 from the company's account and sending the funds to Pakistan.
In his opening address to the jury, prosecutor Alan Troy said Zubair Sayed went to the Commonwealth Bank branch in Cannington with a cheque to be converted into a bank draft, so the money could be sent to an account that Anwar Sayed - who was overseas at the time - had access to.
The school started receiving public funding in 2005 and continued for about two and a half years.
The court was told that as the money was coming in, it was not being spent on the school because it was in a "very poor condition".
The government agencies followed up on the grants to see how they were being spent, and the deteriorating conditions of the school were discovered.
After the third of seven government inspections of the school, the accused men then "acted in concert and depleted half the school's bank balance by withdrawing half the money", Mr Troy said.
He added the men had acted dishonestly and stole from the company when they knew the grants were intended for the Kenwick school only.
Months later, the cheque butt was located by a staff member at the school, with the butt showing the funds were intended for Anwar Sayed to set up a sister school in Kabul.
"Anwar Sayed counselled and procured his brother to get the funds," Mr Troy said.
"Each of the accused was aware of the central nature of the conditions to the grants and funds and each was aware of the transfer that took place on April 16, 2007," he said.
The State said it could not confirm where the $355,000 went, but even if it did go towards the establishment of an Afghan school, "it was utterly contrary to the conditions" attached to the distribution of public funds.
The court was told that by the date of the withdrawal, the balance in the account was $683,925.85 - a "rather more healthy" figure than the $13,000 that was in the school's coffers in January 2005.
From that date onwards, the balance "gradually increased over two and a half years" due to the public funding.
Mr Troy said while the bank account increased, the money was not being used to run the Kenwick school's operations.
He told the jury one witness would describe the "dilapidated" condition of the school later in the trial.
Teachers would also give evidence that unqualifed people would be employed to teach, while staff would need to photocopy textbooks to bring to school for students and were not paid what they were entitled to.
Staff even had to buy their own resources while the remote control for the air-conditioning was taken away from teachers to save energy in summer, Mr Troy said.
The prosecutor argued it would have been "palpably obvious to the two accused that the school required every cent at its disposal to flourish".
"It was obvious to the two accused that they were in no capacity to spend half the available funds on a school seemingly in Afghanistan, when they knew the school was not in great condition," he said.
Defence lawyers for the two men will make their opening submissions today.
The trial is set down for eight days.
as posted here
A day of Peace (park)
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THE revitalisation of the $400,000 Peace Park in Maddington was officially opened by City of Gosnells Mayor Olwen Searle and Planning Minister John Day last week.
The project was part of the Maddington Kenwick Sustainable Communities Partnership. It extends from Kamber Court through to Avebury Court and features playground equipment seating, dual pathways, lighting, native planting and water-wise landscaping.
Mr Day said the partnership had established a framework for a whole series of projects designed to regenerate the Maddington and Kenwick areas.
“Peace Park is a great outcome for the partnership and is an example of how State and local governments can work together to deliver lasting benefits to people living in local communities,” he said.
He said the City had transformed a drainage reserve into a much safer and visually appealing asset for the community.
Cr Searle said community consultation played a key role in the overall area design and name for the park.
as posted here
THE revitalisation of the $400,000 Peace Park in Maddington was officially opened by City of Gosnells Mayor Olwen Searle and Planning Minister John Day last week.
The project was part of the Maddington Kenwick Sustainable Communities Partnership. It extends from Kamber Court through to Avebury Court and features playground equipment seating, dual pathways, lighting, native planting and water-wise landscaping.
Mr Day said the partnership had established a framework for a whole series of projects designed to regenerate the Maddington and Kenwick areas.
“Peace Park is a great outcome for the partnership and is an example of how State and local governments can work together to deliver lasting benefits to people living in local communities,” he said.
He said the City had transformed a drainage reserve into a much safer and visually appealing asset for the community.
Cr Searle said community consultation played a key role in the overall area design and name for the park.
as posted here
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