A restaurant in New Malden has been refused a license to sell alcohol after a string of immigration offences which led to £40,000 in outstanding fines.

Lal Akash, situated on 25 High Street, New Malden, applied for a new premises license to sell alcohol between 5pm and 11pm, Tuesday to Sunday.

At a previous licensing meeting in May this year it came to light that the restaurant had been operating without a license for “six or seven years” after the previous license owner, Mr Badrudin Ebrahim Manji, died.

New manager, Mr Jomirul Hoque incorrectly assumed the license would pass on to him.

However representatives from the Home Office and Metropolitan Police Service asked the council to refuse the application after attending the restaurant and finding staff working there illegally on three separate occasions since 2015.

The applicant for the license, Mr Moynul Hoque, was not the same as the owner of the restaurant, Mr Jomirul Hoque, who had been fined for previous immigration offences.

However, immigration officers believed that Mr Jomirul would still be the “de facto” license holder.

Officers said they believed Mr Moynul Hoque was the brother of Mr Jomirul Hoque.

Mr Moynul Hoque was found to be in the restaurant kitchen on one visit by the immigration officers, suggesting he is close to the owner Mr Jomirul Hoque.

In January 2015 the police and immigration officers arrested an employee who tried to run away from the premises after they found he was working in breach of his conditions at the restaurant.

Another employee was found to have No Right to Work in the UK, and was also arrested, and the restaurant was fined £10,000, which was fully paid.

The police said they provided Mr Jomirul Hoque with guidance and advice for the checks and measures that should be put in place to prevent illegal working. Mr Jomirul Hoque also voluntarily added a series of conditions to the premises licence.

However, when officers visited again in December 2018 they found another two people with No Right to Work.

They also discovered Mr Jomirul Hoque was paying cash in hand.

When the officers interviewed Mr Jomirul Hoque, he admitted he had not conducted the right work checks on either of the employees and was served a £20,000 penalty which still remains outstanding.

Officers also met Mr Moynul Hoque in the kitchen on this visit.

This was then followed by another visit from immigration officers in February 2019, where they found one employee without permission to work in the UK.

The owner initially said he did not keep any records for staff members, but later presented a photocopy of a Portuguese passport which was found to be counterfeit. He was issued with another £20,000 fine which also remains outstanding.

At the Licensing Sub-Committee on Monday (November 18) the police and immigration officials told Kingston council they felt Mr Moynul Hoque was not suitable to hold the license due to his close connection to Mr Jomirul Hoque.

Representatives from the Home Office claimed the owner had said he failed to make the proper checks due to a downturn with the business at a meeting in March this year.

However, the immigration officers said this was “an ongoing problem over time” and under Mr Jomirul Hoque the restaurant was “exploiting vulnerable members of the community.”

The council decided to refuse the application due to the “serious risk to the crime and disorder objectives.”

Councillor Ryder-Mills said: “The applicant was concerned in and aware of breaches, fines and offending. The guidance is clear on the employment of overstayers.”

Neither Mr Moynul Hoque nor his agent attended the Licensing Sub-Committee on Monday (November 18) and the meeting went ahead in their absence.