THE owner of an Indian restaurant has been disqualified from acting as a company director after he employed three illegal immigrants.

Syed Ahmed, the sole registered director of Hook Tandoori Limited, has been disqualified for seven years and fined £4,600 following a collaboration between the Insolvency Service and Home Office Immigration Enforcement.

UK Border Agency officials inspected Hook Tandoori in October 2013 and found the three illegal workers.

A penalty of £15,000 was imposed, but less than a week after the visit Ahmed made a series of regular payments to himself totalling £15,000.

The company failed to pay the penalty and ceased trading in January 2014 when it went into liquidation, recording deficiency in excess of £126,000, including the £15,000 owed to the UK Border Agency.

Proceedings against 53-year-old Ahmed, from Hampshire, were brought to Guildford County Court by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (now the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy).

Ahmed failed to attend the hearing and was ordered to pay costs in excess of £4,600.

The disqualification, which came into effect from September 7, means that Ahmed cannot be a director of a company or be involved in the management of a company for seven years without permission from court.

Lawrence Zussman, deputy head of investigations with the Insolvency Service, said: “The Insolvency Service rigorously pursues directors who fail to pay penalties imposed by the government for breaking employment and immigration laws. We have worked closely in this case with our colleagues at the Home Office to achieve this disqualification.

“The director sought to gain an unfair advantage over his competitors by employing individuals who did not have the right to work in the UK in breach of his duty as a director.

“The public has a right to expect that those who break the law will face the consequences.

“Running a limited company means you have statutory protections as well as obligations. If you fail to comply with your obligations the Insolvency Service will investigate and you run the risk of being removed from the business environment.”