Qiqing He, 54, hired the workers at the now-closed Chinese Cooking takeaway on Holburn Street. Immigration Enforcement officials raided the premises in September 2022 and discovered three workers, all Chinese nationals in their 50s and 60s, had no right to work in the UK.

He, of Denburn Court, Aberdeen, was disqualified as a director at a hearing of the Court of Sessions in Edinburgh last month. His director ban started on Tuesday 4 February.

Dave Magrath, director of investigation and enforcement services at the Insolvency Service, said: “Company directors have a responsibility to follow all the rules and regulations expected of them. Qiqing He clearly failed to do this, employing three people who had no right to work in the UK.

“Illegal working puts some of the most vulnerable people in society at risk of exploitation, undercuts honest employers who pay their taxes, and encourages others to break our immigration laws.

“Improving director conduct is a key priority for the Insolvency Service and we will continue to work with our partners at the Home Office to clamp down on those who do not meet the standards we expect.”

He was the director of QQ Holburn Limited, the company through which the takeaway traded. The company was incorporated on Companies House in October 2019 with He as its sole director.

Immigration Enforcement found the illegal workers when they visited the takeaway in September 2022.

Despite formally resigning as director of the company four months earlier in May 2022, He had continued to control and manage the business.

In interviews with Immigration Enforcement, He also admitted that he had employed the workers and was responsible for paying them.

Immigration Enforcement fined the company £30,000 for the immigration breach, which remains unpaid.

Minister for border security and asylum, Dame Angela Eagle, said: “These sanctions demonstrate the serious consequences that await business owners who flout employment regulations.

“All employers have a responsibility to carry out right to work checks on individuals they hire and we’re ramping up enforcement action against those who fail to do so.

“I would like to thank the Home Office Immigration Enforcement team and our partners at the Insolvency Service for taking robust action in this case. Together we will continue to make sure those who abuse our immigration system face the full consequences.”

The disqualification order prevents He from becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court until February 2032.

QQ Holburn stopped trading as a company in March 2024.

A Chinese takeaway with a different company and trading name currently operates from the same address as Chinese Cooking. He is not a director of this company.