A Kirkcaldy hotelier claims he was unaware six of his employees were working for him illegally after they were detained by UK Borders Agency officers.
Bobby Kumar, who runs the Beveridge Park Hotel, said he was astonished when officers turned up unannounced and began quizzing his staff about their immigration status before removing six Indian workers from the premises.
According to the authority, steps are now being taken to ensure they leave the UK.
Mr Kumar has denied any knowledge of their illegal status, claiming he has all the necessary paperwork to prove he does not deserve to incur a hefty fine.
”My paperwork is extremely thorough and I have handed that to them,” he said. ”At the end of the day, I am not responsible for what my employees get up to outside work such as not going to college or whatever, but I have all the appropriate paperwork for them so I’m not concerned about that.
”I took over this hotel a few years ago and I have worked extremely hard to turn it from a dilapidated building into a bright, vibrant, popular place that the local community can be proud of, so I don’t think I deserve this.”
A spokesman for the UK Border Agency in Scotland said, ”There is no excuse for using illegal labour and if people ignore our immigration laws we will find them and remove them.”