Investor Compensation Act, 1998
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Offences and penalties. |
43.—(1) A person who is guilty of an offence under section 29 (3) or subsection (4), (7) or (8) of this section shall be liable— | |
(a) on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,500 or, at the discretion of the court in the case of an individual, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or both, or | ||
(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £1,000,000 or, at the discretion of the court in the case of an individual, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years, or both. | ||
(2) Summary proceedings in relation to an offence under this Act may be brought and prosecuted by the Director of Public Prosecutions or by the supervisory authority. | ||
(3) Notwithstanding section 10 (4) of the Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act, 1851 , summary proceedings for any offence under this Act may be instituted within two years from the date of the discovery of the offence. | ||
(4) Where an offence under this Act is committed by a body corporate or by an unincorporated body or person or by a sole trader and is proved to have been committed with the consent, connivance or approval of, or to be attributable to, or to have been facilitated by any neglect on the part of, any officer or employee of that entity or person purporting to act on behalf of that entity, that officer or employee shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if that officer or employee were guilty of the first-mentioned offence, provided, however, that an officer or employee shall not be sentenced to imprisonment for such an offence unless in the opinion of the court the offence was committed wilfully. | ||
(5) (a) Where, on an application made in a summary manner by a supervisory authority, the Court is of the opinion that there has occurred or is occurring— | ||
(i) a contravention of this Act, or | ||
(ii) a failure to comply with a condition or requirement imposed by the supervisory authority in accordance with this Act or with a direction issued by the supervisory authority under section 27 , | ||
the Court may by order prohibit the continuance of the contravention or failure by the person or persons concerned. | ||
(b) The Court when considering the application may make such interim or interlocutory order as it considers appropriate. | ||
(c) This section is without prejudice to the statutory functions of the supervisory authority. | ||
(d) Where the Court is satisfied, because of the nature or circumstances of the case or otherwise in the interests of justice, that it is desirable, the whole or any part of proceedings under this section may be held otherwise than in public. | ||
(6) If the contravention, breach or failure in respect of which a person was convicted under subsection (1) or (4) is continued after conviction, the officer or employee shall be guilty of a further offence on every day on which the contravention, breach or failure continues and for each such offence the officer or employee shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,500 or on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding £5,000. | ||
(7) A person who, in purported compliance with any provision of this Act or any regulation made thereunder— | ||
(a) provides an answer or explanation, makes a statement or produces, lodges or delivers any return, report, certificate, balance sheet or other document false in a material particular, knowing it to be false, or | ||
(b) recklessly provides an answer or explanation, makes a statement or produces, lodges or delivers any return, report, certificate, balance sheet or other document false in a material particular, or | ||
(c) knowingly withholds or omits information, | ||
shall be guilty of an offence. | ||
(8) (a) An officer of a product producer or of an investment firm who destroys, mutilates or falsifies, or is privy to the destruction, mutilation or falsification of any record or document affecting or relating to the property or affairs of the product producer or any investment firm, or makes or is privy to the making of a false entry therein, shall, unless the officer proves that he or she had no intention not to comply with the law, be guilty of an offence. | ||
(b) Any person mentioned in paragraph (a) who fraudulently disposes of, alters or makes an omission in any such record or document, or who is privy to the disposal of, altering or making of an omission in any such record or document shall be guilty of an offence. | ||
(9) Where there is a contravention of this Act applicable to a partnership each partner may be charged alone or jointly with any one or more of the partners with any offence in respect of such contravention and on conviction shall be liable for the penalty imposed. | ||
(10) In any proceedings for an offence under this Act applicable to partnerships it shall be a defence for a partner charged to prove— | ||
(a) that the commission of the offence was due to a mistake or the reliance on information supplied to the partner or to the act or default of another person, an accident or some other cause beyond his or her control, and | ||
(b) that the partner took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of such an offence by himself or herself or any other person under his or her control. | ||
(11) Nothing in this Act or any other enactment, and no rule of law, shall preclude the prosecution of a partner for an offence of which another partner or any other person has been previously charged or convicted. |