12A.— (1) A person who contravenes F59[section] 3(1), 3A(7), 3B(1), 6(8), 6F(2), 7A(15), 7B(23), 7C(14) or 7D(23) shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a class A fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €500,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or both.

(3) In proceedings for an offence under subsection (1), it shall be a defence for a person against whom such proceedings are brought to prove that the person took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence.

(4) Where an offence under this section is committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, a person being a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate or a person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, that person, as well as the body corporate, shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he or she were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.]