A former Royal Deeside restaurateur has been barred from becoming a director of any UK company for eight years for failing to keep adequate financial records.
The disqualification, which runs until January 2024, follows a probe by the Insolvency Service.
Ambia Begum, 28, owned and ran the Lochnagar Indian Brasserie at Ballater for a spell before it an HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) winding up petition forced her business into compulsory liquidation in July 2014. It had debts totalling £424,962 at the time.
The Insolvency Service, which investigates UK compulsory liquidations and individual bankruptcies to establish why they became insolvent, found that from December 1, 2011 to July 1, 2014, the company’s books were “inadequate”.
It said this made it impossible to verify expenditure from a company bank account totalling £276,783, or whether receipts of £276,783, were “a true representation of the sales achieved”.
There was also no way of knowing whether the business owned or had disposed of any assets and if so, what their value was.
In addition, it was impossible to “establish the true level of liabilities” owed to HMRC and whether the company should have registered for pay-as-you earn and National Insurance contributions.
Robert Clarke, head of company investigation at the Insolvency Service, said: “Directors who operate cash-based businesses have to maintain sufficient records to explain where these monies have gone and, following insolvency, make sure that such records are delivered up for scrutiny by the relevant bodies.
“By failing to do this the public can not be sure that all funds received by the company were used for legitimate purposes.
“The substantial period of this disqualification reflects the fact that when a company fails to keep adequate financial records it is simply not possible to determine whether there has been other, more serious, impropriety in relation to the management of its affairs.”
Ms Begum lived in Huntly as recently as last year but her current whereabouts are unknown.
Lochnagar Indian Brasserie, at 2 Church Square, Ballater, now trades under the ownership of Nowshad Miah.
Mr Miah said yesterday he and his business had no connection to Ms Begum.