The bankruptcy service has taken action against three brothers who allegedly withheld restaurant receipts and left taxpayers with more than £ 500,000.
The government agency said it has banned Abul Azad, 57, Abul Ashraf, 50 and Abul Khaled, 44, from serving as directors for seven years, seven years and three and a half years, respectively.
The three, all from Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, were said to have been directors of A&A (Melton Mowbray) Limited.
They had shared the management of three Indian restaurants – the Apurba in Melton, the Bombay Brasserie in Grantham and another called Tandoori Knights.
They were said to have avoided paying full sales and corporate taxes by “deliberately or recklessly” destroying or removing sales records in their company accounts.
A total of around 566,749 pounds were owed to HMRC when the brothers voluntarily liquidated the company almost three years ago.
It reads: “During the bankruptcy service’s investigation, the brothers attempted to discredit the company’s accountant and put the blame on him, despite written warnings to the accountant in subsequent years that the company had insufficient records and that it was obvious that cash and sales documents were lost.
“In some cases it was found that the sales identified solely through card payment data were higher than the total reported sales, which included cash payments.”
The bankruptcy service said that Abul Azad and Abul Ashraf have signed letters of disqualification accepting that they have caused or allowed the company to suppress its sales to the detriment of HMRC for a period of at least four and a half years.
Their bans began on July 6, 2021 and last for seven years.
Abul Khaled, who was a brief director of the company during the period, admitted having induced or permitted the company to suppress its sales for a period of at least eight months.
His three and a half year ban also begins on July 6th.
Cassandra Dowthwaite, Assistant Director of Bankruptcy Investigations (North), Bankruptcy Service said, “This ban should serve as a warning to other directors trying to hide sales and withhold taxes necessary to fund vital public services for their own benefit.
“Corporations have limited liability, which is a privilege and not a right, and the bankruptcy service has strong enforcement powers that we will not hesitate to deprive dishonest or ruthless directors of that privilege.
The bankruptcy service said Azad and Ashraf are the longest-serving directors in office since the company was founded on May 6, 2010.
Abul Khaled was in office from November 1, 2015 to July 1, 2017.
Disqualification obligations are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order, but do not involve legal proceedings.