Legal aid grant for accused Crosby Textor fraudster Mohammed Saderuddin Syed

A former senior employee at Crosby Textor will fight charges he stole $3m from the company over nine years – and his court battle is being funded through a Legal Aid grant.

Mohammed Syed has pleaded not guilty to allegedly engaging in a years-long pillaging of lobbying firm Crosby Textor’s funds.

A former senior employee at leading political strategy firm Crosby Textor will fight charges he stole $3m from the company over nine years – and his lengthy court battle is being funded through a Legal Aid grant.

On Friday, Mohammed Saderuddin Syed appeared before Downing Centre District Court where he pleaded not guilty to 396 charges of fraud.

It has been alleged the financial controller, who was on an annual salary of over $200,000, siphoned the money to bankroll trips to Mecca, and funded the purchase of a $1.8m waterfront home in Rhodes and a $560,000 home at Greenacre.

A trial date has been set for October next year and is expected to run for six to eight weeks.

The 46-year-old’s arraignment was adjourned for a short period on Friday because the large bundle of papers containing his long list of charges could not be located by the registry.

On previous occasions this year, in August and September, Mr Syed appeared before the court self-represented, and told the court he was preparing an expert accounting report which he says will prove his innocence.

The Australian revealed earlier this year the accused fraudster’s wife, primary school teacher Rabia Parveen, allegedly used the company’s money to pay for various trips to Mecca in 2017, which included luxury stays in the royal suite at Saudi Arabia’s five-star Raffles Hotel and The Oberoi Madina.

Crosby Textor is undertaking proceedings against Mr Syed and his wife in the NSW Supreme Court. The Weekend Australian understands about $1m in assets have been frozen as part of those proceedings.

A court heard in March Mr Syed incurred legal expenses in excess of $50,000, of which he had paid only $10,000. It was ­estimated an eight-week trial would cost $768,000.

Last year, he failed in an attempt to withdraw $200,000 to pay for his solicitors. An application to amend the freezing order was also knocked back.

A statement of claim filed by Crosby Textor alleges he transferred a total of $308,320 to his wife’s personal bank account from August 2010 to November 2018. He also allegedly transferred $206,550 of the company’s money into a joint ­account held with his wife.

The funds were allegedly used to pay a deposit of $56,000 on a site at Greenacre. According to Crosby Textor, they then paid Clarendon Homes to build a four-bedroom home. In 2015, the couple sold it for $1.2m.

Mr Syed disputes the allegations and denies any wrongdoing. Ms Parveen has not been charged in connection with her husband’s alleged fraud. She claims she “did not know” the money for her overseas travel, had allegedly been stolen.

He is on strict bail conditions where he must report to police three times a week and is banned from entering any international airports. He is also not permitted to leave NSW.