Court claim alleges misuse of public funds at exempt accommodation provider
The chief executive of Ash Shahada Housing Association (ASHA) and his deputy face High Court allegations that they tried to bribe a councillor over a proposed £10 million social housing investment and misused public funds for family and associates.
Court documents reported by The Telegraph allege that Toaha Qureshi (pictured top), ASHA’s chief executive, and his son, deputy chief executive Umar Mahmood, offered Birmingham councillor Morriam Jan “generous under-the-table cash payments” in connection with a £10 million fund said to have been approved by ASHA’s board. The payments were allegedly conditional on the executives being allowed to spend the money as they wished and that she should “never question this”.
The claim is brought by former board member Joseph Mbang as a derivative action against ASHA, Qureshi, Mahmood and another director. It alleges that the father and son “are using… ASHA (and its public funds) for their own purposes and lifestyles for themselves, family members and friends” and that there is a “climate of intimidation [and] fear”.
ASHA is a not-for-profit association providing social and supported housing in south London and the Midlands, mainly in the exempt accommodation sector. The organisation reports turnover of £47 million, most of it from housing benefit and related public funding. Birmingham City Council is a major purchaser of exempt accommodation and was reported to have paid £27.5 million to ASHA in 2022. The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) found ASHA non-compliant in relation to some supported housing in 2021.
The particulars of claim state that after Jan raised concerns about the alleged bribe, Mbang reported “serious financial irregularities”, including “the misuse of public funds” and “improper personal benefits”, to ASHA’s board and to the RSH. He alleges that he then faced retaliation, including a false complaint over a contractor dispute and threats.
The claim also alleges that Qureshi’s son, Saad Qureshi, vice-chairman of ASHA’s tenants’ board, lives in an ASHA-owned house in Croydon valued at about £500,000, which is said to have been refurbished at a cost of about £200,000. Further contracts worth tens of thousands of pounds are alleged to have gone to companies linked to other family members.
Qureshi and Mahmood deny that ASHA has spent such sums on refurbishments and state that all tenants meet the required criteria for tenancy. “We strenuously deny any allegation of financial impropriety or other unlawful or inappropriate conduct,” they stated.
“The allegations made are false, defamatory and highly damaging. We will be filing a robust defence to Mr Mbang’s claim.”
Qureshi and his son, added that Mbang was their former line manager, and that they have an ongoing employment tribunal claim against him due to harassment, discrimination and a failure to abide by employment law.
“We are in fact whistleblowers, having raised concerns about Mr Mbang and he has retaliated against us against whistleblowing protections, including this recent claim and going to the press,” they said. “We reiterate that Mr Mbang was lawfully removed from his position on the board of Ash Shahada Housing Association Limited in October 2025 due to serious breaches of the association’s governing documents and rules.”
Lawyers for ASHA also said the “allegations are not true, they are defamatory and highly damaging”, adding that an independent investigation is under way and that they will file a full defence.
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