Part II Regulation of Insurance Companies

Powers of intervention

44 Power to obtain information and require production of documents.

(1)

The F1Treasurymay require a company to furnish F2them, at specified times or intervals, with information about specified matters being, if F3the Treasury so require, information verified in a specified manner.

(2)

The F1Treasury may—

(a)

require a company to produce, at such time and place as F4the Treasury may specify, such F5documents as F4the Treasury may specify; or

(b)

authorise any person, on producing (if required so to do) evidence of his authority, to require a company to produce to him forthwith any F5documents which that person may specify.

C2F6(2A)

Subsections (1) and (2) above shall have effect as if any reference to a company included a reference to any person who is or has been a controller, officer, agent or employee of a UK or non-EC company and to any body corporate which is or has been—

(a)

a parent undertaking or subsidiary undertaking of such a company;

(b)

a subsidiary undertaking of a parent undertaking of such a company; or

(c)

a parent undertaking of a subsidiary undertaking of such a company.

F6(2B)

The F1Treasury may require a UK or non-EC company to furnish F7them, at a specified time, with a report by a specified person, being an actuary or accountant or other person with relevant professional skills, on any matter about which the F1TreasuryF8have required, or could require, the company to provide information under subsection (1) above.

(3)

Where by virtue of subsection (2) above the F1TreasuryF9have or a person authorised by them has power to require the production of any F5documents from any company, the F1Treasury or that person shall have the like power to require production of those F5documents from any person who appears to F10them or, as the case may be, him to be in possession of them; but where any person from whom such production is required claims a lien on F5documents produced by him, the production shall be without prejudice to the lien.

(4)

Any power conferred by or by virtue of F11subsections (2), (2A) and (3)above to require a company or other person to produce F5documents shall include power—

(a)

if the F5documents are produced—

(i)

to take copies of them or extracts from them; and

(ii)

to require that person, or any other person who is a present or past director, controller or auditor of, or is or was at any time employed by, the company in question, to provide an explanation of any of them;

(b)

if the F5documents are not produced, to require the person who was required to produce them to state, to the best of his knowledge and belief, where they are.

F12(4A)

Any person authorised by the F1Treasury may, on producing if required evidence of his authority, enter any premises occupied by—

(a)

a UK or non-EC company on which a requirement under subsection (1) or (2) above has been imposed; or

(b)

a person on whom or a body on which such a requirement has been imposed by virtue of subsection (2A) above,

for the purpose of obtaining the information or documents required to be furnished or produced and exercising the powers conferred by subsection (4) above.

(5)

A statement made by a person in compliance with a requirement imposed by virtue of this section may be used in evidence against him.

F13(5A)

However, in criminal proceedings in which that person is charged with an offence to which this subsection applies—

(a)

no evidence relating to the statement may be adduced, and

(b)

no question relating to it may be asked,

by or on behalf of the prosecution, unless evidence relating to it is adduced, or a question relating to it is asked, in the proceedings by or on behalf of that person.

(5B)

Subsection (5A) above applies to any offence other than—

(a)

an offence under section 71(1)(b), (3) or (4) below;

(b)

an offence under section 5 of the M1Perjury Act 1911 (false statements made otherwise than on oath);

(c)

an offence under section 44(2) of the M2Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 (false statements made otherwise than on oath); or

(d)

an offence under Article 10 of the M3Perjury (Northern Ireland) Order 1979 (false statements made otherwise than on oath).

F14(6)

In this section “document” includes information recorded in any form; and, in relation to information recorded otherwise than in legible form, the power to require its production includes power to require the production of a copy of the information in legible form.

F15(7)

This section shall apply to the Secretary of State and persons authorised by him as it applies to the Treasury and persons authorised by them; and for this purpose references in this section to the Treasury shall be construed as references to the Secretary of State.