Imperial donor on US fraud charges

A businessman who donated £ million to create Imperial College London's Management School is facing fraud charges in the US.

Gary Tanaka and his business partner Alberto Vilar have been charged with stealing millions of dollars from investors and using the funds to make charitable donations and buy racehorses.

They have each been charged on three counts of scheming to defraud, obtaining money by false pretences and wiring investor funds across state lines with the intent of putting the money to personal use.

Dr Tanaka, who lives in London, was arrested by US postal inspectors and charged by federal prosecutors in New York City. He was released on $11 million (£6 million) bail last week. He has had to surrender his passport and remains under electronic surveillance. Mr Vilar was refused bail.

Prosecutors have until the end of June to obtain an indictment.

Dr Tanaka has been principal and director of Amerindo Investment Advisors since its inception in 1979. He gained his PhD in applied mathematics at Imperial. He is best known in the UK for his involvement in horse racing.

Ardi Kolah, director of communications at Imperial, refused to say if the college had taken legal advice on whether it might have to return the £ million donation. He said: "The press reports are a matter for Dr Tanaka and not a matter for Imperial College."

* The Association of University Teachers has called on Imperial to end uncertainty over job cuts at its Wye campus.

The AUT wants staff threatened with redundancy to be given notice within a fortnight or have their jobs guaranteed until September 2006. Imperial is closing its department of agricultural sciences.