A former Birmingham City Council finance manager, who was jailed for stealing more than #1 million of public funds, has been ordered to pay back most of the cash or his sentence will be more than doubled.
John Kaduwanema, an illegal immigrant from Uganda, bought a luxury car and five properties with the #1,171,847 he stole when he worked at the social services department of the council.
He was sentenced to seven-and-a half years in September, when it was recommended that he be deported after serving half his term.
Earlier this week, at a confiscation hearing, a crown court judge ordered Kaduwanema to pay back #1,075,000 in six months or face his sentence being increased by another ten years.
Kaduwanema, aged 27, was hired by the council in 2001 to work in the social care payments team. He produced documents purporting to show he had indefinite leave to remain in this country, although his trial heard that he had paid for the papers which were forged.
Kaduwanema admitted ten offences of theft between March 2004 and February 2006 and asked for 14 similar offences to be taken into consideration. The court heard how he was responsible for paying creditors through electronic money transfer.
He began embezzling small amounts at first, paying cash straight into his own bank accounts or to his mother in Uganda. By the time he was promoted to team leader, in May 2004, he had already stolen more than #13,000.
But then his spending started to escalate, and in January 2005 Kaduwanema used #7,660 of council money to buy a Jaguar XJS.
By March 2005 he was buying property, paying #86,471 to the Halifax Bank to discharge a mortgage. On February 1 2006 he paid #285,000 into his mother's bank account, a move that sparked the investigation that led to his downfall.
He then authorised payment for a house at Brierley Hill, one in Cannock, and a deposit on an apartment in Birmingham city centre.
In August 2005, Kaduwanema paid #163,000 for an apartment in Liverpool. He followed that on February 1 2006 by paying #285,000 into his mother's bank account, a move that sparked the investigation that led to his downfall.
