The former chief executive of the All Wales Ethnic Minority Association (Awema) denied defrauding the charity of more than £16,000 on the first day of his trial.

Nasir Malik, 65 from Park Place in Brynmill, appeared at Swansea Crown Court yesterday. He has been charged with three counts of fraud. He is accused of using two blank cheques he was not entitled to; one for £2,500 to reduce a credit card bill and the other for £9,340, which went straight into his bank account. He is also accused of using charity funds to pay for his life assurance policy, with monthly payments of £89 over four years amounting to £3,500.

Awema had a bank account with Barclays and cheques for over £1,000 needed two signatures. Malik was one of the signatories and another was treasurer, Stephen Matthews. The court heard how Matthews had pre-signed blank cheques, which were left with the Awema’s finance director, Saquib Zia.

Wales Online reports that in 2010 Malik asked for an advance on his expenses. It reported that Jim Davies, prosecuting lawyer told the court that Zia “was in a difficult position given the defendant was his boss. He gave the defendant a cheque which had been pre-signed but he did so reluctantly and on the basis the defendant would bring his expense claims up to date.”

The prosecution claims that the second cheque was taken from Zia’s desk when he was on holiday.

Allegations of financial irregularities were first made against Malik in 2011. Six trustees including the vice-chair resigned and funding from the Welsh government and the Big Lottery Fund was frozen. The Charity Commission also opened a statutory inquiry and the charity closed in 2012.

Malik and Zia were dismissed from the charity at the beginning of 2012. Zia later won an employment tribunal case for unfair dismissal. 

Awema received around £8m in public funding a year. The Public Accounts Committee, which reviewed the Welsh government’s grant system following the Awema scandal, has said there needs to be more stringent conditions for recipients of public funding.

The trial continues.