A seven-year ban from serving as a company director has been imposed on the management of an Indian restaurant and takeout in eastern England for hiring three undocumented workers from Bangladesh. Before Immigration Enforcement agents raided the Taste of Raj restaurant in Stanstead Abbotts, Hertfordshire, in 2020, Ikbal Hussain, 51, employed the staff members. Following additional research, the UK's Insolvency Service said on Tuesday that Hussain has been barred from operating a firm until 2031. “Ikbal Hussain’s failure to ensure the required checks were carried out resulted in the employment of three illegal workers, in contravention of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006,” said Kevin Read, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service. “This represents a serious breach of legislation and of the standards expected of company directors. As a result of this breach, he cannot be involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company in the UK for the next seven years,” he said. Enfield resident Hussain served as the restaurant's lone director. Since June 2014, the business has operated under the name Tender Love Ltd. Indian restaurants are the term used to describe eateries in the UK that serve food from the Indian subcontinent, which includes Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal. During an operation at Taste of Raj's location in March 2020, immigration enforcement authorities discovered three men who were not authorised to work in the UK. The three employees, who were in their 40s and originally from Bangladesh, admitted to investigators that they had worked at the restaurant for as little as four days and as much as two months. Hussain had employed them without conducting right-to-work checks and also failed to keep the required documentation proving they were eligible to work in the UK, the officers noted. “Illegal working cheats honest workers out of employment, puts vulnerable people at risk, and defrauds the public purse. We’re clamping down on illegal working by ramping up enforcement activity and tripling fines for rogue employers. We will continue to work with partners including the Insolvency Service to tackle illegal migration in all its forms,” said Suran Padiachie, Home Office Immigration Enforcement. The Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Kemi Badenoch, accepted a disqualification undertaking from Hussain which means his seven-year ban began last week. It imposes several restrictions on his business activities and prevents him from becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company without the permission of the court. (PTI)