39.—(1) In this section—

F21[‘credit institution’ means a credit institution as defined in point (1) of Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) No. 575/2013⁸ of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on prudential requirements for credit institutions and investment firms and amending Regulation (EU) No. 648/2012;]

F22[‘designated body’ means—

(a) a credit institution,

(b) within the limits of its payment activity, a payment service provider,

(c) An Post, and

(d) any other person engaged in the processing and distribution to the public of currency notes or coins, or both, including—

(i) a person whose activity consists of exchanging currency notes and coins of different currencies, including a person or body authorised under the Central Bank Act 1997 to carry on bureau de change business,

(ii) a transporter of funds, and

(iii) a person who is engaged on a secondary basis in the processing and distribution to the public of currency notes via automated teller machines (ATMs), within the limit of that secondary basis;]

F21["payment service provider" means a person referred to in Regulation 6(1) of the European Union (Payment Services) Regulations 2018 ( S.I. No. 6 of 2018);]

“recognised code of practice” means a code of practice drawn up for the purposes of this section—

(a) by a designated body or class of designated bodies and approved by the Central Bank of Ireland, or

(b) by the Central Bank of Ireland for a designated body or class of such bodies.

F21["transporter of funds" has the same meaning as it has in Regulation (EC) No. 1338/2001 of 28 June 2001 laying down measures necessary for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting, as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No. 44/2009 of 18 December 2008;]

F21[(1A) A reference in this section to a note or coin does not include a reference to a note or coin that is denominated, or purports to be denominated, in euro or in cent.]

(2) A designated body shall—

(a) withdraw from circulation any notes or coins received by it or tendered to it which it knows or suspects to be counterfeit, and

(b) transmit them as soon as possible to the Central Bank of Ireland with such information as to the time, location and circumstances of their receipt as may be available.

(3) Counterfeit or suspect currency notes or coins may be transmitted to the Garda Síochána under subsection (2) in accordance with a recognised code of practice.

(4) A recognised code of practice may include provision for—

(a) procedures to be followed by directors or other officers and employees of a designated body in the conduct of its business,

(b) instructions to them on the application of this section,

(c) standards of training in the identification of counterfeit notes and coins,

(d) procedures to be followed by them on perceiving or suspecting that currency notes or coins are counterfeit,

(e) different such procedures to be followed in respect of different currencies,

(f) the retention of documents required for the purposes of criminal proceedings.

(5) Without prejudice to section 58, a designated body which contravenes a provision of subsection (2) of this section or who provides false or misleading information on matters referred to in F23[that subsection] is guilty of an offence under this section and liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,500 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or both.

(6) It shall be a defence in proceedings for an offence under this section—

(a) for a designated body to show—

(i) that it had established procedures to enable this section to be complied with, or

(ii) that it had complied with the relevant provisions of a recognised code of practice,

and

(b) for a person employed by a designated body to show that he or she transmitted the currency notes or coins concerned, or gave the relevant information, to another person in accordance with an internal reporting procedure or a recognised code of practice.

(7) Where a designated body, a director, other officer or employee of the body—

(a) discloses in good faith to a member of the Garda Síochána or any person concerned in the investigation or prosecution of an offence under this Part a suspicion that a currency note or coin is counterfeit or any matter on which such a suspicion is based, or

(b) otherwise complies in good faith with subsection (2) or with a recognised code of practice,

such disclosure or compliance shall not be treated as a breach of any restriction imposed by statute or otherwise on the disclosure of information or involve the person or body making the disclosure in liability in any proceedings.

(8) F24[…]