Due to his misappropriation of money from the British government's Covid Bounce Back Loan, the proprietor of an Indian restaurant in England received a two-year prison sentence and was barred from serving as a director of the firm.
Located in Salisbury, southern England, Chutneys Indian takeaway restaurant is owned and operated by Zaman Shaa's Shaa Ventures Limited.
The 53-year-old applied to disband his firm, despite the fact that it had been operating for the preceding three months, in violation of British company law before receiving a loan.
Shaa was disqualified as a corporate director for two years and given a term of 36 weeks in prison, suspended for eighteen months under tight conditions, at Winchester Crown Court last month.
"Zaman Shaa took advantage of a plan designed to support companies in times of national emergency for his personal benefit," stated Pete Fulham, Chief Investigator for the UK's Insolvency Service.
"It is insufficient to write off his acts as something he did spontaneously. To carry them out, a certain level of sophistication and preparation took several weeks. Shaa's disqualification order and punishment show that we won't think twice about taking legal action against directors who have misused Covid funding in this way," the speaker stated.
During the same hearing on February 23, Shaa was also mandated to pay 6,000 pounds (USD 7,614) in costs, which he was to pay at a monthly rate of 250 pounds (USD 317).
He had requested for a 30,000-pound (USD 38,071) loan, the court was informed.
Reportedly, in August 2020, he asked for a 30,000-pound (USD 38,071) bounceback loan while serving as a director of Shaa Ventures Ltd., according to the court. He did not notify creditors of his intention to dissolve the company as required by law.
Shaa moved the money into his personal accounts, used remittance services to send part of it overseas, and took large cash withdrawals, according to an Insolvency Service examination of his operations.
Before February 2026, the disqualification order forbids Shaa from participating in the creation, advancement, or administration of a business without the court's approval.
Restaurants in the UK that serve food from the Indian subcontinent, such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal, are frequently referred to as Indian restaurants.
Shaa no longer has any affiliation with Chutneys Indian, according to the Insolvency Service, following his conviction for three felonies: failing to notify a creditor of a voluntary strike-off application, in violation of Section 1007 of the Companies Act 2006; fraud by false representation, in violation of Section 2 of the UK's Fraud Act 2006; and unlawful application for voluntary strike-off.
