A Bolton law firm is at the heart of a growing corruption scandal after it emerged that it received a secret £300,000 grant from the council to refurbish its offices.
Rival firms have expressed anger at the decision, which was taken behind closed doors by Bolton's ruling Labour council. Personal injury firm Asons Solicitors used some of the cash to install a pool table, along with table football, Samsung smart TVs in every room and a rooftop lounge garden for barbecues.
'Dr' Imran Akram, a non-lawyer and the sole director of Asons, appears to have a penchant for luxury items and fast cars in particular. He has frequently posted videos of himself gunning his £180,000 Lamborghini Huracan around Manchester on social media, while in a 2014 interview he said supercars "signify engineering brilliance, daring, sportsmanship and living on the edge; all of which mean a lot to me".
It transpires that Akram, who received an honorary doctorate in business administration from Bolton University, has been living on the edge with the taxman, too. The local press has discovered that Asons has been battling a huge tax bill from HMRC, which says the firm owes, how about that, £300,000 as a result of numerous errors in its accounts. Grant Thornton resigned as Asons' auditor in October.
There are now calls from other local businesses for the council to explain why Asons merited such special treatment and for the Labour chairman to resign. Stephen Crompton, the incensed joint Managing Partner of Russell & Russell, said, “This is extremely worrying. Law firms up and down the country have been subjected to the same challenging market conditions as Asons, so why has it been given preferential funding?" Akram built himself a reputation as a pillar of the community by running an Asons-branded charity event, but surely the prize, a ride in his lime green erection of a car, wouldn't have been sufficient to sway politicians. However, neither the council or Asons responded to a request for details of any links between the law firm boss and councillors.
Tip Off ROF
Rival firms have expressed anger at the decision, which was taken behind closed doors by Bolton's ruling Labour council. Personal injury firm Asons Solicitors used some of the cash to install a pool table, along with table football, Samsung smart TVs in every room and a rooftop lounge garden for barbecues.
'Dr' Imran Akram, a non-lawyer and the sole director of Asons, appears to have a penchant for luxury items and fast cars in particular. He has frequently posted videos of himself gunning his £180,000 Lamborghini Huracan around Manchester on social media, while in a 2014 interview he said supercars "signify engineering brilliance, daring, sportsmanship and living on the edge; all of which mean a lot to me".
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Just his sixth? Someone give this man taxpayers' money |
It transpires that Akram, who received an honorary doctorate in business administration from Bolton University, has been living on the edge with the taxman, too. The local press has discovered that Asons has been battling a huge tax bill from HMRC, which says the firm owes, how about that, £300,000 as a result of numerous errors in its accounts. Grant Thornton resigned as Asons' auditor in October.
There are now calls from other local businesses for the council to explain why Asons merited such special treatment and for the Labour chairman to resign. Stephen Crompton, the incensed joint Managing Partner of Russell & Russell, said, “This is extremely worrying. Law firms up and down the country have been subjected to the same challenging market conditions as Asons, so why has it been given preferential funding?" Akram built himself a reputation as a pillar of the community by running an Asons-branded charity event, but surely the prize, a ride in his lime green erection of a car, wouldn't have been sufficient to sway politicians. However, neither the council or Asons responded to a request for details of any links between the law firm boss and councillors.
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