Companies Act 2014

F367[Prosecution of officers and members of company

558ZR

558ZR. (1) This section applies where a process adviser has been appointed in relation to an eligible company.

(2) If it appears to the process adviser, at any time during the rescue period, that any past or present officer, or any member, of the eligible company has been guilty of any offence in relation to the company, the process adviser shall forthwith report the matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

(3) Where the process adviser reports a matter under subsection (2) to the Director of Public Prosecutions, the process adviser shall—

(a) provide to the Director of Public Prosecutions such information, relating to the matter in question, as he or she may require, and

(b) give to him or her such access to, and facilities for, inspecting and taking copies of such documents, being documents in the possession or under the control of the process adviser and relating to the matter in question, as he or she may require.

(4) Where a foregoing report is made by the process adviser, the process adviser shall also report the matter to the Director of Corporate Enforcement.

(5) Where a matter is reported by the process adviser under subsection (4) to the Director of Corporate Enforcement, the process adviser shall—

(a) provide to the Director of Corporate Enforcement such information, relating to the matter in question, as he or she may require, and

(b) give to him or her such access to, and facilities for, inspecting and taking copies of such documents, being documents in the possession or under the control of the process adviser and relating to the matter in question, as he or she may require.

(6) If, where any matter is reported under subsection (2) or (4) to—

(a) the Director of Public Prosecutions, or

(b) the Director of Corporate Enforcement,

and the Director of Public Prosecutions or, as the case may be, the Director of Corporate Enforcement considers that the case is one in which a prosecution ought to be instituted and institutes proceedings accordingly, it shall be the duty of each of the persons mentioned in subsection (7) to give all assistance in connection with the prosecution which he or she is reasonably able to give.

(7) The persons referred to in subsection (6) are the process adviser and—

(a) every officer (past or present) of the eligible company, and

(b) every agent (past or present) of the eligible company,

other than the defendant in the proceedings.

(8) For the purposes of subsection (7), "agent", in relation to the eligible company, includes—

(a) the bankers and solicitors of the eligible company, and

(b) any persons employed by the eligible company as auditors, accountants, book-keepers or taxation advisers, or other persons employed by it in a professional, consultancy or similar capacity, whether those persons are (or were) or are not (or were not) officers of the eligible company.

(9) If any person fails or neglects to give assistance in the manner required by subsection (6), the court may, on the application of the Director of Public Prosecutions or, as the case may be, the Director of Corporate Enforcement, direct that person to comply with the requirements of that subsection.

(10) Where any such application is made in relation to a process adviser, the court may, unless it appears that the failure or neglect to comply was due to the process adviser not having in his or her hands sufficient assets of the eligible company to enable him or her so to do, direct that the costs of the application shall be borne by the process adviser personally.]

Annotations

Amendments:

F367

Inserted (7.12.2021) by Companies (Rescue Process for Small and Micro Companies) Act 2021 (30/2021), s. 3, S.I. No. 673 of 2021.