Criminal Justice Act, 1994

PART VIII

Supplementary

Disclosure of information.

57.—(1) Any person to whom or which section 32 of this Act applies (including their directors, employees and officers) shall report to the Garda Síochána where they suspect that an offence under section 31 or 32 of this Act in relation to the business of that person or body has been or is being committed.

(2) A person charged by law with the supervision of a person or body to whom or which section 32 of this Act applies shall report to the Garda Síochána where he or it suspects that an offence under section 31 or 32 of this Act has been or is being committed by a person or body with whose supervision the first mentioned person or body is so charged.

(3) A report may be made to the Garda Síochána under this section in accordance with an internal reporting procedure established by an employer for the purpose of facilitating the operation of this section.

(4) In the case of a person who was in employment at the relevant time, it shall be a defence to a charge of committing an offence under this section that the person charged made a report of the type referred to in subsection (1) or (2) of this section, as the case may be, to another person in accordance with an internal reporting procedure established for the purpose specified in subsection (3) of this section.

(5) A person who fails to comply with subsection (1) or (2) of this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both, or

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

(6) In determining whether a person has complied with any of the requirements of this section, a court may take account of any relevant supervisory or regulatory guidance which applies to that person or any other relevant guidance issued by a body that regulates, or is representative of, any trade, profession, business or employment carried on by that person.

(7) Where a person or body—

(a) discloses in good faith information in the course of making a report under subsection (1) or (2) of this section, or

(b) discloses in good faith to a member of the Garda Síochána or any person concerned in the investigation or prosecution of a drug trafficking offence or an offence in respect of which a confiscation order might be made under section 9 of this Act a suspicion, or any matter on which such a suspicion is based, that any property—

(i) has been obtained as a result of or in connection with the commission of any such offence, or

(ii) derives from property so obtained,

the disclosure shall not be treated as a breach of any restriction upon the disclosure of information imposed by statute or otherwise and shall not involve the person or body making the disclosure (including their directors, employees and officers) in liability of any kind.