Two former trustees of the charity Afghan Poverty Relief have been jailed for defrauding their organisation out of more than £350,000.

Syed Hajnajafi, aged 50, of Belwood Road in London, was yesterday sentenced to 5 years and his wife Akila Kassam, aged 46, of the same address, was sentenced to 3 years at the Old Bailey, the central criminal court in London.

Both were found guilty of one count of theft of charitable funds.

Both are also disqualified as acting as charity trustees.

A statement from the Metropolitan Police said between 2005 and 2011 Hajnajafi and Kassam abused their position to divert more than £350,000 of charitable funds to their own personal and business accounts, spending the money on luxury cars and foreign holidays.

Hajnajafi and Kassam were arrested in November 2011 and charged in May 2013.

The Charity Commission opened an investigation into the charity in February 2012, over “concerns relating to the alleged misappropriation of charity funds and concerns about the charity's administration, governance and overall management”.

The charity was set up to relieve poverty and provide education in Afghanistan. It has not filed accounts since 2010, when it had an income of £498,000, all of it voluntary, and spending of £523,000.

Michelle Russell, head of investigations and enforcement at the Charity Commission, said: “We welcome the strong message given today that the abuse of charities for personal gain is taken seriously by the courts.

“This was a case that highlights the particularly shameful behaviour of two individuals stealing from a charity and abusing the position of trust they were in.

“We have worked closely with the police on this case over the last two and a half years to make sure that the fraudulent action of these two people was stopped and that it did not go unpunished. The Commission provided expert assistance to the criminal investigation and a member of staff was a witness in the criminal trial helping to secure the conviction.”

The Commission’s investigation into the charity continues, and it continues to work with police to recover the stolen funds for charity.