12.— (1) In this Part, except where the context otherwise requires—

“account” means an account, of whatever nature, in a financial institution, whether in the State or a designated state, which is held or controlled by a person and includes—

(a) an account held by the person under a different name or different version of the person’s name,

(b) an account held by the person jointly with another person,

(c) an account held by another person on which the person is authorised to operate, whether by way of a power of attorney or otherwise,

(d) an account held by another person (in this Part referred to as a “sending or recipient account”) to or from which payments have been or are being made from or to an account in the name of a person specified in an account information order, and

(e) any other account held by another person, where information in relation to it would be relevant to the investigation referred to in the request;

“account information order” means an order under section 13 or 17 that a specified financial institution shall, within a time to be specified by the applicant for the order by notice in writing or any extension of that time under subsection (2)—

(a) state—

(i) whether an account or accounts in the name or names of a specified person or persons or in a specified different version or versions of that name or those names is or are held in the financial institution, and

(ii) whether it has become aware, in the ordinary course of business, of any other account or accounts in the institution on which the specified person or persons is or are authorised to operate, whether by way of a power of attorney or otherwise,

and

(b) if so, provide to the applicant or his or her nominee, in a manner and form specified in the notice, any information that it has in relation to any such account or accounts and any sending or recipient accounts, including details of any operations thereon specified in the notice during any period so specified;

“account monitoring order” means an order under section 13 or 17 that a specified financial institution shall enable the applicant for the order to monitor, during a period, and in a manner and form, specified by the applicant by notice in writing, any operations so specified that are being carried out on an account or accounts in a specified name or names or in a specified different version or versions of that name or those names in the financial institution;

“financial institution” means—

(a) if the financial institution is in the State—

(i) a person who holds or has held a licence from the F22[Central Bank of Ireland] under section 9 of the Central Bank Act 1971,

(ii) a person referred to in section 7(4) of that Act, or

(iii) a credit institution (within the meaning of the European Communities (Licensing and Supervision of Credit Institutions) Regulations 1992 (S.I. No. 395 of 1992)) which has been authorised by that Authority to carry on the business of a credit institution in accordance with the supervisory enactments within the meaning of those Regulations,

or

(b) if the financial institution is in a designated state, a bank or a non-bank financial institution;

“form”, where it occurs in the definition of account information order and account monitoring order, means a form which—

(a) is permanent and legible, whether or not it has been converted into such a form from an electronic or other non-legible form, or

(b) if so specified by the applicant for such an order, is an electronic or other non-legible form which is capable of being converted into a permanent and legible form;

“political offence”—

(a) includes an offence connected with a political offence,

(b) does not include—

(i) an offence to which section 3 of the Extradition (European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism) Act 1987 (the “ Act of 1987 ”) applies, or

(ii) an offence, as defined in subsection (3), of conspiracy or association to commit such an offence;

“2001 Protocol” means the Protocol of 16 October 2001 to the 2000 Convention;

“sending or recipient account” has the meaning given to it by paragraph (d) of the definition of “account”.

(2) The time specified by an applicant for an account information order—

(a) is a time within which a financial institution may reasonably be expected to provide the information specified in the order, and

(b) may be extended for a period specified by the applicant in a further notice in writing, after consultation with the financial institution concerned.

(3) The offence of conspiracy or association referred to in paragraph (b)(ii) of the definition of “political offence” is an offence—

(a) which is constituted by the behaviour described in Article 3(4) of the Convention relating to Extradition between the Member States of the European Union, done at Brussels on 27 September 1996, namely, behaviour by a person which contributes to the commission, by a group of persons acting with a common purpose, of—

(i) one or more than one offence in the field of terrorism as mentioned in Articles 1 and 2 of the 1977 Terrorism Convention, drug trafficking or other forms of organised crime, or

(ii) other acts of violence against the life, physical integrity or liberty of a person or creating a collective danger for persons,

and

(b) which is punishable, even if the person does not take part in the actual commission of the offence or offences, by a term of imprisonment for a period of 12 months or a more severe penalty,

where the contribution was intentional and made with knowledge of the purpose and general criminal activity of the group or of its intention to commit the offence or offences concerned.

(4) The reference in this section to section 3 of the Act of 1987 is to that section as amended by section 2 of the Extradition (Amendment) Act 1994 and sections 12 and 27 of the Extradition (European Union Conventions) Act 2001.