39.— (1) A person who states to a member of the Garda Síochána or a member of IFI that—

(a) an offence under this Act or any other enactment has been or is being committed,

(b) a provision of this Act, a provision of any other enactment or any rule of law has been or is being contravened, or

(c) there has been serious wrongdoing by any person in relation to IFI,

knowing the statement to be false commits an offence.

F6[(1A) This section does not apply to the making of a statement that is a protected disclosure within the meaning of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014.]

(2) A person convicted of an offence under this section is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €5,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €100,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both.