The former owner of two failed companies was the person in “de facto” charge of Cheadle-based law firm Wolstenholmes prior to its collapse in December, Crain's has discovered.

Ex-staff who spoke on condition of anonymity said that Wasim Saddique, who was brought in by former managing partner Nasser Ilyas as consultant to advise the firm, was effectively running it. Saddique is also said to have brought in his own people to head key functions in the firm, such as accounts and IT.

Saddique and another consultant, Mario Cardinali, conducted interviews with potential new recruits and instructed money to be transferred from client accounts to the office account. It is not clear whether the firm carried out background checks on either of them.