Building Societies Act, 1989
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Provisions supplemental to section 45 . |
46.—(1) It shall be the duty— | |
(a) of all officers, members and agents of a society or other body the affairs of which are being investigated under section 45 , and | ||
(b) of any other person who the inspector considers is or may be in possession of any information concerning the affairs of the society or body, | ||
to produce to him all books, accounts, deeds, records or other documents of, or relating to, the society or body which are in their power, possession or procurement, to attend before the inspector when required to do so and otherwise to give to him all assistance in connection with the investigation which they are reasonably able to give. | ||
(2) The inspector may examine on oath the officers, members and agents of the society or other body being investigated and any such person as is mentioned in subsection (1) in relation to its affairs and may administer an oath accordingly. | ||
(3) If an inspector has reasonable grounds for believing that a director or past director of the society whose affairs the inspector is investigating maintains or has maintained a bank account of any description, whether alone or jointly with another person and whether in the State or elsewhere, into or out of which there has been paid— | ||
(a) any money which has resulted from or been used in the financing of any transaction, arrangement or agreement particulars of which were not included in the register of certain transactions and arrangements as required by section 59 ; or | ||
(b) any money which has been in any way connected with any act or omission, or series of acts or omissions, which on the part of that director constituted misconduct (whether fraudulent or not) towards that society or its members; | ||
the inspector may require the director or past director to produce to him all documents in the director's possession, or under his control, relating to that bank account and in this subsection “bank account” includes an account with any person exempt by virtue of section 7 (4) of the Act of 1971 from the requirement of holding a licence under section 9 of that Act. | ||
(4) If any officer, member or agent of the society or other body or any such person as is mentioned in subsection (1) refuses to produce to the inspector any book or document which it is his duty under this section to produce, refuses to attend before the inspector when required to do so, or refuses to answer any question put to him by the inspector with respect to the affairs of the society, or other body, as the case may be, he shall be guilty of an offence. | ||
(5) Nothing in this section— | ||
(a) shall compel the production by a barrister or solicitor of a document or material containing a privileged communication made by him or to him in that capacity or the furnishing of information contained in a privileged communication so made, or | ||
(b) shall require the disclosure by a bank or a building society of any information as to the affairs of any of its customers other than the society or body the affairs of which are being investigated. | ||
(6) In this section any reference to officers or to agents shall include past as well as present officers and agents, as the case may be, and “agents”, in relation to a society or other body, shall include the bankers, accountants, solicitors, auditors and the financial and other advisors of the society or other body. | ||
(7) The Central Bank shall be entitled to be repaid the expenses of the investigation defrayed by it under section 45 (3) (d) as follows, that is to say— | ||
(a) by the applicants for the investigation to such extent (if any) as the Bank may direct; | ||
(b) by any body whose affairs were the subject of the investigation to such extent (if any) as the Bank may direct; or | ||
(c) by a person convicted of an offence in proceedings instituted as a result of the investigation to such extent (if any) as the court by or before which he was convicted may order; and a person liable under any one of paragraphs (a) to (c) is entitled to contribution from any other person liable under the same paragraph according to the amount of their respective liabilities under it. |