Politics

Mr Knight was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court on 22 March 2017 having pleaded guilty to 11 separate offences. The Judge also ordered Royston Knight to undertake 100 hours unpaid work and be subject to a four month curfew hours 8pm to 6am.

His conviction follows a prosecution by the Insolvency Service.

Mr Knight had instructed an employee to manufacture false pay slips in support of his associate’s mortgage applications.

On being adjudged bankrupt on 16 August 2000, he failed to inform the Official Receiver that some two months earlier, he had transferred his property in favour of the Linear Property Company Ltd.

These offences dated back to a period between 2000 and 2004 when Mr Knight was both bankrupt and subject to an order disqualifying him from acting as a director for a period of 5 years. Despite these restrictions, he was improperly involved in a number of limited companies in the Gloucestershire area, one of which went into liquidation with creditors totalling £552,947.03.

Criminal proceedings were commenced against Royston knight in 2004 by the then-Department for Trade and Industry (DTI), by which time, he had left the UK. A warrant was obtained for his arrest and in November 2015, on returning to the UK from Panama, Royston Knight was arrested and brought before the court to face charges.

Deputy Chief Investigating Officer, Liam Mannall from the Insolvency Service said:

This case involved serious wrongdoing and is a demonstration of the long memory that justice retains.

The insolvency regime should not be abused, nor should a disqualification order be ignored, the consequences are likely to catch up with those who ignore this.

Note to editors

Royston Martin Knight’s date of birth is May 1949.

The Insolvency Service, an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), administers the insolvency regime, and aims to deliver and promote a range of investigation and enforcement activities both civil and criminal in nature, to support fair and open markets. We do this by effectively enforcing the statutory company and insolvency regimes, maintaining public confidence in those regimes and reducing the harm caused to victims of fraudulent activity and to the business community, including dealing with the disqualification of directors in corporate failures.

BEIS’ mission is to build a dynamic and competitive UK economy that works for all, in particular by creating the conditions for business success and promoting an open global economy. The Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions team contributes to this aim by taking action to deter fraud and to regulate the market. They investigate and prosecute a range of offences, primarily relating to personal or company insolvencies.

The agency also authorises and regulates the insolvency profession, assesses and pays statutory entitlement to redundancy payments when an employer cannot or will not pay employees, provides banking and investment services for bankruptcy and liquidation estate funds and advises ministers and other government departments on insolvency law and practice.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available.

Further information about the work of the Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions team is also available.

Media enquiries for this press release – 020 7674 6910 or 020 7596 6187

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

The disqualification from 13 March 2017 prevents Mr Ahmed from directly or indirectly becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company until March 2022.

Mr Ahmed’s disqualification follows an investigation by the Insolvency Service which found he had failed to ensure relevant immigration checks were completed and documents retained, resulting in the employment of an illegal worker and which resulted in a penalty notice of £30,000 being issued by the Home Office.

Aldona O’Hara, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service said:

The Insolvency Service rigorously pursues directors who fail to pay fines 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 an unfair advantage over his competitors by employing an individual who did not have the right to work in the UK in breach of his duties 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 obligations as well as protections. If you fail to comply with your obligations then the Insolvency Service will investigate you.

Notes to editors

Unique Flavours Limited (Company Registration No. 08348016) was incorporated on 4 January 2013 and traded from 121 Stoke Road, Gosport, Portsmouth P012 ILR.

Mohammed Zahed Ahmed (date of birth 24 April 1985) was the sole registered director from 4 January 2013, the date of incorporation, until liquidation.

The company went into liquidation on 13 May 2016. On 20 February 2017, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted a Disqualification Undertaking from Mr Ahmed, effective from 13 March 2017, for a period of five years.

The matters of unfit conduct being that: Mohammed Zahed Ahmed failed to ensure that Unique Flavours Limited complied with its obligations in accordance with The Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 and employed illegal workers.

This led to a penalty of £30,000, which materially contributed to the insolvency of Unique Flavours Limited in that:

• Mohammed Zahed Ahmed was sole appointed director of Unique from 4 January 2013, the date of incorporation, until the date of liquidation
• on 9 October 2015 Home Office Immigration Enforcement (HOIE) officers visited the company’s trading premises and the company was found to be employing two illegal workers
• on 24 November, 2015 HOIE issued a Notification of Liability for a Civil Penalty to Unique in respect of a suspected breach of section 15 of the Immigration Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, in the sum of £30,000 in respect of the company’s employment of two illegal workers, payment of which was due on or before 24 December 2015
• as the sole registered director of Unique, Md Zahed Ahmed was responsible for ensuring that the company complied with all relevant legislation, including legislation relating to the employment of persons eligible to work.
• no payments were made against the civil penalty and this sum remained outstanding at liquidation.

A disqualification order has the effect that without specific permission of a court, a person with a disqualification cannot:

• act as a director of a company
• take part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion, formation or management of a company or limited liability partnership
• be a receiver of a company’s property

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings. Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of other restrictions.

The Insolvency Service, an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), administers the insolvency regime, and aims to deliver and promote a range of investigation and enforcement activities both civil and criminal in nature, to support fair and open markets. We do this by effectively enforcing the statutory company and insolvency regimes, maintaining public confidence in those regimes and reducing the harm caused to victims of fraudulent activity and to the business community, including dealing with the disqualification of directors in corporate failures.

BEIS’ mission is to build a dynamic and competitive UK economy that works for all, in particular by creating the conditions for business success and promoting an open global economy. The Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions team contributes to this aim by taking action to deter fraud and to regulate the market. They investigate and prosecute a range of offences, primarily relating to personal or company insolvencies.

The agency also authorises and regulates the insolvency profession, assesses and pays statutory entitlement to redundancy payments when an employer cannot or will not pay employees, provides banking and investment services for bankruptcy and liquidation estate funds and advises ministers and other government departments on insolvency law and practice.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available.

Media enquiries for this press release – 020 7674 6910 or 020 7596 6187

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on: