The former chief executive of the Welsh race relations charity, All Wales Ethnic Minority Association (Awema), was cleared of two counts of fraud by Swansea Crown Court on Friday.

Naz Malik, 65, was accused of writing himself two cheques, totalling £12,000 and setting up a life insurance policy that was paid for by his employers.

He was cleared of using the charity’s money to pay for the life insurance policy and writing himself a £2,500 cheque.

After almost eight hours of deliberation, the jury failed to agree on a third charge relating to a £9,430 cheque that Malik allegedly wrote to himself to clear his credit card debts.

Malik denied any wrongdoing during the three-week trial, despite allegations that he used charity funds to pay for everything from cat litter to a new kitchen. He declined to comment as he left the court on Friday.

Malik earned a salary of approximately £50,000, on top of which he was able to claim expenses. The court heard that Malik was promised a pension and that the issue had “rumbled on” for years. He said that the board finally agreed for Awema to contribute to his pension in 2008 and that he believed he was entitled to a life insurance policy as part of that deal.

Awema was set up in 2001 to promote race relations in Wales and help fight discrimination. It was the largest charity of its kind in Wales and received grants from the Welsh government and the Big Lottery Fund, which were often distributed to smaller charities who were sub-contracted to carry out work.

It was registered as both a charity and a not-for-profit company but lost its charity status and funding after investigations were launched into its finances. It was disbanded in late 2012.