Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010

106U

F173[Powers of Bank in relation to beneficial owners

106U. (1) Where the Bank has reason to believe that a person who is a beneficial owner of the business of the holder of a registration is exercising an influence on the direction of the affairs of the holder of the registration which is, or is likely to be, prejudicial to the compliance by the holder concerned with any obligations under this Act, the Bank shall, subject to subsection (2), notify the person that it so believes, and direct the person in writing to take specified measures to bring that influence to an end within a specified period.

(2) Before issuing a direction to a person under subsection (1), the Bank shall notify the person of its intention to issue the direction and shall give the person an opportunity to make such representations on the matter as he or she may wish to make within a period specified by the Bank in the notification.

(3) A direction issued under subsection (1) is an appealable decision for the purposes of Part VIIA of the Act of 1942.

(4) Where the Bank is of the opinion that a direction under subsection (1) has not been complied with by the person concerned, or has not been complied with within the specified period of time, the Bank may, without prejudice to any of its other functions, apply to the Court in a summary manner for any one or more of the following:

(a) an injunction prohibiting the person concerned from issuing directions to directors or to any manager, secretary, officer or staff of, or persons engaged by, the holder of the registration concerned and prohibiting any director, manager, secretary, officer or any other person acting on behalf of the holder of the registration from seeking directions from, or consulting, the person concerned, or from acting on such directions without the consent of the Bank;

(b) an order suspending the exercise by the person concerned of any interest in or voting rights attaching to shares held by that person in the holder of the registration concerned;

(c) an order requiring the person concerned to dispose of some or all of his shareholding, interests or rights in the holder of the registration concerned within a period specified by the Court;

(d) such other order as the Court considers appropriate.

(5) Where the Court is satisfied, because of the nature or the circumstances of the case or otherwise in the interests of justice that it is desirable, the whole or any part of proceedings before it may be heard otherwise than in public.

(6) In this section "Court" means the High Court.]

Annotations:

Amendments:

F173

Inserted (23.04.2021) by Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Act 2021 (3/2021), s. 25, S.I. No. 188 of 2021.