Hunt on for college bosses in visas row

THE bosses of a city college at the centre of a row over visas given to foreign students are being hunted after the institution went bust owing £150,000 to the taxman.

The Edinburgh School of Business had lost the right to act as a sponsor to obtain visas for students on its courses following a probe by the UK Border Agency (UKBA).

Now a sheriff has put the college into liquidation following an application by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs for unpaid VAT.

Insolvency specialists Begbies Traynor were called in to administer the liquidation, but the firm has been unable to track down college directors Nitin Gupta, 28, from Ruthven Place in the Inch, or Gordon Wright, 44, from Coatbride, Lanarkshire.

The college bosses are set to be the subject of an investigation by Begbies Traynor into any potential misconduct over its financial affairs.

It is understood that students from countries including Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Nepal were among those left in the lurch when the college went bust, leaving them without official sponsors.

Some are understood to have found places at alternative colleges while others were forced to return home.

The business school, previously based in Hay Avenue in Niddrie, had 400 students and 20 staff at one time but was stripped of its right to be a sponsor for foreign students coming to the Capital.

UKBA investigators alleged that the college's paperwork was in disarray, and said its register "over-stated" the attendance of some students. Lawyers for the business school challenged the decision to revoke its sponsorship powers at the Court of Session last June and refuted suggestions that it was a "bogus college".

It is understood the college later withdrew from the court battle, and was put into liquidation last month.

David Menzies, insolvency director with Begbies Traynor in Edinburgh, said: "The major creditor is HRMC for 150,000 in VAT liability. It was their application which put the company into liquidation.

"We've not been able to contact the directors so far. Until we contact them, we're limited in what we can do.

"There will be an investigation into the conduct of the directors, which is a statutory obligation."

Foysol Choudhury, chairman of the Edinburgh and Lothians Regional Equality Council, said he knew of students from Bangladesh and Nepal who were left stranded when the college went bust. He said: "We feel there is a need for the Scottish Government to apply more scrutiny on small colleges specifically targeting international students to encourage them to come to study in Scotland."

In March 2006, the Home Office introduced rules for issuing visas to foreign students coming from outside the European Union. Institutions had to pay a fee and train staff to look after the sponsorship arrangements, reporting students who failed to attend or who quit.A UKBA spokeswoman: "Sponsors bringing in international students must ensure that they keep proper records, that the students are attending the course for which they are enrolled and that they are complying with the requirements of the immigration rules."

An HMRC spokesman said: "The matter is in the hands of the liquidators."

Mr Gupta and Mr Wright could not be contacted by the Evening News.