Woman says she had ‘no idea’ about £505,000 stolen from Yopa

A woman claims she had no idea that her husband stole almost £1.5m from two high-profile employers - one of them the online agency Yopa.

The Leicester Mercury reports that Sofina Sarwar denies knowledge of how her husband - Haroon Cassim - obtained an estimated £505,000 from Yopa and £960,000 from National Lottery organiser Camelot.

The Mercury reports a Leicester Crown Court hearing which heard that Cassim - who has already been convicted - used bogus invoices from fake businesses to transfer hundreds of thousands of pounds into two accounts of his wife.

Cassim used the names of three businesses to submit bogus invoices, for work or services not provided, to dupe his employers. One of the businesses was registered at Companies House, with Sarwar listed as the sole director.

Nassim, who is awaiting sentencing, was described to the court as a "problem gambler.” At Yopa he was employed as a contact centre leader, between October 2017 and August 2018.

Meanwhile Sarwar is now on trial accused of three counts of money laundering on various dates, between 2011 and 2018.

The court has been told that all £505,000 taken from Yopa was transferred by Cassim into Sarwar’s personal bank accounts; some £740,000 of the £960,000 stolen from Camelot was also transferred directly into accounts only in Sarwar's name.

Sarwar denies all charges and is quoted in the Mercury as saying of her savings account: "I don't use it, he's the only one.”

The case continues.

You can read the full report here.