PART II

The Central Bank

Chapter I

Preliminary, Alteration of Penalties and General Offence Provisions

5. —In this Part—

“the Act of 1971” means the Central Bank Act, 1971 ;

“the Principal Act” means the Central Bank Act, 1942 .

6. —The Principal Act, the Central Bank Act, 1961 , the Central Bank Act, 1964 , the Act of 1971 and this Part shall be construed together as one Act and may be cited together as the Central Bank Acts, 1942 to 1989.

7. —Every regulation and order (other than regulations under section 15 or to which section 23 (3) relates or an order under section 79 ) made under this Part shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation or order is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the regulation or order is laid before it, the regulation or order shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

8. —The Principal Act is hereby amended—

(a) in section 55, by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) If any person makes, or causes to be made, or uses for any purpose whatsoever, or utters any document purporting to be, or in any way resembling, or so nearly resembling as to be calculated to deceive, a bank note or part of a bank note, he shall be guilty of an offence under this subsection and shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or to both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding £10,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years, or to both.”;

(b) in section 56, by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2):

“(2) Every person who makes, provides, issues, re-issues, or gives or receives in payment any document in contravention of subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £10,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or to both.”;

(c) in section 65, by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2):

“(2) (a) It shall be the duty of every person on whom a notice is served by the Bank under subsection (1) of this section to comply with such notice within the time or on the periodic occasions (as the case may be) specified in such notice, and if he fails so to do, he shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000.

(b) Where a person has been convicted of an offence by virtue of paragraph (a) of this subsection and, after the conviction, the failure to comply continues, the person shall be guilty of contravening this section on every day on which the contravention continues after that conviction and for each such offence he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £100.”.

9. —The Act of 1971 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following section for section 58:

“58.—(1) Any person who contravenes section 7 , 14 , 17 , 18 or 27 of this Act and a holder of a licence who—

(a) has obtained a licence through false statements or any other irregular means,

(b) contravenes section 19 , 20 , 26 , 31 or 33 of this Act,

(c) commits by act or omission a breach of a condition duly imposed and which relates to a licence,

(d) fails to comply with a direction under section 11 (3) (c) (inserted by section 34 of the Central Bank Act, 1989), 21 or 22 of this Act, or a requisition under section 23 of this Act, or

(e) contravenes regulations under section 24 or 25 of this Act,

shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable—

(i) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or to both, or

(ii) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £50,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years, or to both,

and, if the contravention, breach or failure in respect of which he was convicted is continued after conviction, he shall be guilty of an offence on every day on which the contravention, breach or failure continues after conviction in respect of the original contravention, breach or failure and for each such offence he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £100 or on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding £5,000.

(2) Where there is a contravention in relation to a unit trust scheme of section 14 (2) of this Act, the manager under the scheme shall be deemed to have contravened section 14 of this Act.

(3) In any proceedings for an offence under this section which relates to section 27 of this Act, it shall be a good defence for the accused to prove that he was, at the relevant time, a person whose business it was to publish or arrange for the publication on behalf of some other person of advertisements or other solicitations and that the relevant advertisement or other solicitation was received for publication in the ordinary course of that business and that he did not know and had no reason to suspect that to use it to advertise or otherwise solicit could be an offence.”.

10. —An offence under the Central Bank Acts, 1942 to 1989, which is being tried summarily may be prosecuted by the Bank and a statement made by the person conducting such prosecution that the prosecution has been commenced with the authority of the Bank shall be sufficient evidence that the prosecution was so commenced.

11. —Where an offence under the Central Bank Acts, 1942 to 1989, is committed by a body corporate or by a person purporting to act on behalf of a body corporate or an unincorporated body of persons and is proved to have been so committed with the consent or approval of, or to have been facilitated by any wilful neglect on the part of, another person (being a director, manager, secretary, member of any committee of management or other controlling authority of such body or official of such body) that other person shall, as well as the body corporate or the person so purporting to act, be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.