Notting Hill Carnival Charity Finance Boss Gets 6 Years For Swindling £784K

Exposed: Nadia Chase Ali

The trusted financial officer of a community charity that runs the Notting Hill Carnival and assists Grenfell survivors was jailed for six years today for swindling over three quarters of a million pounds.

Nadia Chase Ali, 34, holidayed with her boss while defrauding The Carnival Village Trust for two years, transferring sums to her four bank accounts on 530 occasions.

Approximately £30,000 ended up in her native Trinidad and Tobago and the mum-of-one has failed to offer a penny in compensation.

Chase Ali, of Bonchurch Road, North Kensington, who has shown no remorse, has left the charity financially crippled and owing thousands to the taxman.

She worked at The Tabernacle W11, a Grade II listed building in Powis Square, Notting Hill, which was also financed by the trust and provides multiple community services.

She pleaded guilty at Isleworth Crown Court to fraud by abuse of position between March 6, 2014 and December 2, 2016 to dishonestly make a gain of £784,262.56p.  

She also pleaded guilty to money laundering, namely transferring £30,000 in criminal property out of the UK and a jury convicted her of stealing financial documents and letters belong in to The Carnival Village Trust.

“This is a very serious crime, it is an attack on the community,” said Judge John Dennis. “None of that money has been recovered and has either been sent to the Caribbean or spent on personal items.”

Some of the money was spent by Chase Ali at retail shops in Trinidad and Tobago, plus Next and Argos and flights and beauty treatments.

“This defendant has used the funds of this charity as her private bank account,” said prosecutor Mr. Tyrone Silcott. “During the trial her behaviour was described as a breathtaking breach of trust. It was a betrayal.

‘She gave evidence in the face of overwhelming evidence and still does not accept responsibility for stealing the paperwork. She has shown absolutely no remorse for what she has done.

No Hiding Place: Ali Was Jailed

The trust is mainly funded by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the Arts Council.

“It is a significant part of the local community, a cultural hub,” added Mr. Silcott.

The Tabernacle’s director Matthew Philip says the charity provided services for local youths, the elderly and for those with addiction problems.

“This is a charity that has supported local people effected by the Grenfell fire. I feel betrayed by Nadia’s actions.”

Judge Dennis told an emotionless Chase Ali, dressed in a grey tracksuit: “What aggravates this case enormously is the damage you have done to the Tabernacle.

“I have heard with great sadness the effect which your gross dishonesty has had on that institution.

“It is the hub of community life in North Kensington, providing facilities to an enormous amount of people who need assistance.

“It may now be closed, owing large sums of money to the Inland Revenue and in VAT.

‘It was publicly-funded with money being poured in from the council and other bodies, money that you syphoned off.

“If the Tabernacle goes it will leave a gaping hole in North Kensington.

“You betrayed the trust that was placed in you by your employer, who was a friend that went on holiday with you. You cynically betrayed that trust.

“There is virtually no remorse expressed by you at all for this prolonged fraud of two years as you filleted this organisation.”

Her lawyer Exdol Mitchell told the court: “She is fearful of a custodial sentence for the impact it will have on her loved ones.

“She is not a wicked woman. It was by chance she came across how easy it was to commit these frauds.”

Chase Ali claims the money financed her late mother’s medical bills and care needed for her sickly father in Trinidad and Tobago, but the prosecution found no more than £20,000 was spent this way.