Amarjit Singh, the owner of Unique International College transferred $22 million to his family's account in one day, the federal court has heard.
Singh, who allegedly signed up thousands of disabled and illiterate students from Aboriginal missions based on government funded VET FEE Help student loans, told the he was "giving the gift" of education to these 3600 students.
But the court was told that out of 3600 students, a whopping 3138 students never completed a single unit of any course they were enrolled in.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) lawyer, Norman O’Bryan, SC pointed out that this has cost taxpayers more than $47 million in VET FEE Help student loans.
He also said Singh’s college was involved in ‘spectacularly profitable business’ that ‘was unique in more ways than one.’
On Wednesday, the court was told that Singh transferred $22 million to his family’s account in November 2015.
Mr O'Bryan said Mr Singh was "pouring money into the pockets of his family," through "a serious manipulation of public revenue."
Previously, in July 2015, Singh had transferred a property worth $5.7 million to another family member.
But in his defence, Mr Singh said that his college was ‘a genuine education provider’.
Mr Singh also told the court that he was concerned about students’ progress which was a dismal 6.5% in 2015. But he added that this rate was still in line with the rest of the sector.
He also told the court that he was unaware of the fact that the students signed up for courses at the Unique International College were lured through ‘free laptops’ in Aboriginal missions.
It was his wife who brought it to his attention after reading about it in media.
"It was very sad to see myself on the front page of a paper with so much negative commentary," he said.
When Mr O'Bryan told Mr Singh that he had deliberately recruited Aboriginal employees to market Unique's courses to people living in remote Aboriginal missions, Mr Singh said he was "very proud" of signing up students from regional areas where educational opportunities were few.
"I was confident that they were going to be able to bring diversity to the culture of the organisation," he said.
Unique International College’s lawyer David Pritchard SC told the court that the debt incurred by students was a matter for the Commonwealth and the students and "we can't do anything about that."
The hearing continues.
