NHS fraud doctor Anthony Madu loses bid to avoid repaying £75k

A former Cardiff gynaecologist who cheated the NHS out of over £100,000 by working while suspended has lost his legal bid to avoid repaying the money.

Anthony Madu, 47, was found guilty of six counts of fraud in 2014 relating to when he was employed by Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.

He had done locum work while suspended on pay and after submitting sick notes.

Madu lost his case at the Court of Appeal in London to challenge a confiscation order made last year.

Madu, from Woolwich, south east London, was given a two-year suspended sentence and ordered to do 150 hours unpaid work in 2014.

Last June he was ordered to repay £75,000 after a judge at Cardiff Crown Court found he had funds available to contribute towards the total amount he had defrauded.

Madu, who had transferred about £73,000 to his bank account in his native Nigeria, said the cash was to pay for healthcare and funeral costs for two relatives who had died within a short space of time.

However, he did not provide any evidence to support this claim and the crown court judge said he was "driven to conclude" the money had been moved because he knew efforts would be made to recover it.

Wednesday's hearing was heard at the Court of Appeal

On Wednesday Madu appeared before Lord Justice Hamblen, Sir John Saunders and Judge Nicholas Cooke QC at the Court of Appeal to challenge the confiscation order.

He broke down as he told the court he had to bear significant costs following the illness and death of his sister, which he said happened around the time of his confiscation hearing.

He also said the only way he could get the proof he needed was to travel to Nigeria, which he could not afford to do.

Rejecting his appeal, Sir John Saunders said: "We are satisfied that there is simply no arguable ground of appeal in this case and this application is therefore refused."

Madu did locum work while suspended with pay in 2009 amid an investigation into his training record and after submitting sick notes from January 2010 which said he was unable to work due to stress.

Madu, who earned close to £100,000 a year, went on to do locum work worth about £69,000 with three NHS trusts in England while still earning more than £29,000 from his employers in Wales, while employed at Cardiff's University Hospital of Wales.

This secondary employment was never declared to his employer, as was legally required.