A director from Oldham has received a hefty ban after he was caught paying large sums to third parties and making 'significant' cash withdrawals with around £600,000 remaining unexplained in accounting records.

Shahin Hoque of Bamford Street in Chadderton has received a lengthy ban from the Insolvency Service as his dealings have come to light.

Mr Hoque was the director of Epicure Catering Events Ltd, an Indian restaurant and takeaway called The Last Monsoon on the corner of King Street West and Wood Street West in Stockport.

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He was also the director of Emirates Events Ltd, a function room building adjacent to the restaurant on Wood Street West in Stockport, though the company later changed its address to Westhulme Avenue in Oldham and ultimately dissolved in May 2022.

The Insolvency Service has struck off the 49-year-old director for his involvement in The Last Monsoon restaurant after he failed to maintain, preserve or "deliver up" adequate accounting records.

The Oldham Times: Mr Hoque was also the director of another business which sat next door to the restaurantMr Hoque was also the director of another business which sat next door to the restaurant (Image: Google Maps)

Among the lengthy list of 'missing' or unexplained sums include payments from Epicure's bank account to six third parties, a firm of solicitors and three property businesses, totalling £374,331 over the course of two years, as well as cash withdrawals totalling £18,352 and a further £154,924 in cheque payments.

The notice also reveals Mr Hoque made payments to himself, totalling £16,010 within the space of a month, which the Insolency Service has been unable to determine the "nature and purpose" of.

The government agency has also queried the amount of VAT liability submitted by Mr Hoque in the final claim from HMRC.

The director claimed the liability was in the region of £144,092, including interests and surcharges of £15,099.

Finally, the disqualification notice reveals a £50,000 Covid Bounce Back Loan granted to Epicutre in May 2020 was "used for the economic benefit of the company".

The loans were made available for businesses as of May 5, 2020, to help companies recover from the economic damage brought on by pandemic lockdowns.

They were granted from £2,000 up to a maximum of £50,000 and based on 25 per cent of a company's annual turnover.

Further records on Companies House show Mr Hoque established the company as a licenced restaurant in January 2019 and by the following year had eight employees.

However, while in May 2022 Mr Hoque voluntarily wound down the company, and paid out £3,450 towards liquidation costs, the "significant" cash withdrawals and lack of "explanations" from the director prompted the liquidator to raise the alarm with solicitors and the Secretary of State.

As a result, the Insolvency Service has now issued a disqualification order, starting Monday, March 11, which bans Mr Hoque from acting as a director for any company for the next seven years.

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