The owner of a building that was used as an illegal shisha cafe despite warnings to shut down the operation, along with the business that ran the enterprise, have been told to pay upward of £380k.
Mr Bashdar Mohammed Abdullah, sole director of Tate Bashdar Ltd, let out the property 78-80 Wilmslow Road in south Manchester, allowing it to be used to illegally operate as a shisha cafe – known at Antalya Cafe - in breach of a planning enforcement notice.
Mr Abdullah, who currently resides in Iraq, pleaded guilty last year to offences under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and attended a sentencing hearing at Manchester Crown Court on Thursday 26 September.
Mr Abdullah has been ordered to pay a fine of £66,000, along with court costs of £8,193.50, and has had £176,072.12 of criminally generated income confiscated - payable by 26 December 2024. His company Tate Bashdar Limited – registered at 121 Oxford Road in Manchester - was also ordered to pay a fine of £10,000.
Subsequently, on Monday 30 September, the former sub-leaseholder of Antalya Cafe, Mr Javed Karimi, and the former operator Jaan Cafe Limited, together with the director, Ms Mary Karimi, were also sentenced for their part in failing to comply with the enforcement notice.
A confiscation order of £272,699.57 was imposed on Mr Karimi, together with a fine of £5,000. Mr Karimi had assets remaining of £115,865, which the court ordered to be handed over in 3 months. Mr Karimi has been given 12 months in which to pay the fines. Ms Karimi was ordered to pay a fine of £1,800.
In total, the court has ordered £382,930.62 to be paid through fines, court costs and proceeds of crime confiscations.
Council officers first became aware of the Antalya Cafe in 2018, operating as a mixed-used shisha bar, restaurant and hot food takeaway without the necessary planning permissions in place. Material changes had also been made to the shop front of the premises which were undertaken without planning permission, along with a range of internal works.
An enforcement notice was issued against the property which ordered the landlord to cease the unauthorised use of the premises and remove any works that did not have planning permission.
Following numerous attempts by Council officers to ensure compliance with the legal notice, including two visits to the premises to seize shisha pipes and tobacco, the property was still in breach of regulations four years later.
In collaboration with Financial Investigators at Salford City Council, the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) was used, allowing the courts to confiscate money generated by illegal activities.
The court heard that although the enforcement notice has now been complied with, neighbouring residents have lived with the detrimental impact of the illegal operation for a number of years.
Cllr Gavin White, Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and development, said:
“Operating illegal shisha cafes is not a victimless crime. Not only are the operators turning a blind eye to the law, but they are also putting their customers at risk and often they are a blight to the local community.
“Our residents have had to put up with illegal shisha operations on Wilmslow Road for too long. The judgement from the courts in this case, along with the confiscation of large sums of illegally obtained money, should act as a warning to similar companies that we will not tolerate businesses who have no regard for the law. Our officers are looking for you and when we find you we will use the full extent of the law to bring you to justice.
“Following a number of investigations and enforcement action on Wilmslow Road we are already seeing the positive impact of this work, allowing new legitimate businesses to move in.”