Stephen Sweeney, / Glasgow Sheriff Court / CC BY-SA 2.0
The former head of the Scottish Muslim Police Association (SMPA) has been ordered to repay £8000 in compensation to the organisation after being convicted of embezzlement.
Asma Ali, 47, of Glasgow, stole that sum from the SMPA and used the money to pay for flights and rail travel to London as well as hotel stays and a shopping trip to Harrods.
She was sentenced at Glasgow Sheriff Court after pleading guilty to a charge of embezzlement. She was also ordered to carry out 160 hours of unpaid work within a 12-month period under supervision.
The offences took place between March 2017 and June 2019.
Fraser Gibson, Procurator Fiscal for Glasgow and Strathkelvin, said: “Asma Ali flagrantly abused the trust placed in her by the members of the Scottish Muslim Police Association (SPMA) to look after their interests. Instead, she used her position to embezzle funds that should have been set aside to help the association and used that money for her personal use.
“This case demonstrates that those who seek to exploit others for their own personal gain will be held to account for their crimes. We will always prosecute in such cases when it is in the public interest and where there is evidence to do so.”
The court heard how Ali, a founding member of the organisation which was based at Maryhill Police Station in Glasgow, was elected as chairperson in 2016. In 2017, she proposed a procedural change which would allow cheques to be issued with a single signature.
At the same time, a facility was set up allowing the SPMA bank account to be managed through online banking. Between 2017 and 2019, several association officials raised concerns over the organisation’s finances after two treasurers had stepped down.
These concerns centred on a high volume of payments made directly from the association’s account to Ali without receipts or vouching. In August 2019, Ali stepped down from her position as chairperson and 11 days later SPMA officials alerted Police Scotland’s head of professional standards over her management of the organisation.
An investigation then revealed £8,000 had been transferred from the SPMA’s account into a Bank of Scotland account belonging to the accused. An analysis of Ali’s bank transactions showed she was heavily in debt.