Financial Services and Markets Act 2000

48 Prohibitions and restrictions

(1) This section applies if the Authority—

(a) on giving a person a Part IV permission, imposes an assets requirement on him; or

(b) varies an authorised person’s Part IV permission so as to alter an assets requirement imposed on him or impose such a requirement on him.

(2) A person on whom an assets requirement is imposed is referred to in this section as “A”.

(3) “Assets requirement” means a requirement under section 43—

(a) prohibiting the disposal of, or other dealing with, any of A’s assets (whether in the United Kingdom or elsewhere) or restricting such disposals or dealings; or

(b) that all or any of A’s assets, or all or any assets belonging to consumers but held by A or to his order, must be transferred to and held by a trustee approved by the Authority.

(4) If the Authority—

(a) imposes a requirement of the kind mentioned in subsection (3)(a), and

(b) gives notice of the requirement to any institution with whom A keeps an account,

the notice has the effects mentioned in subsection (5).

(5) Those effects are that—

(a) the institution does not act in breach of any contract with A if, having been instructed by A (or on his behalf) to transfer any sum or otherwise make any payment out of A’s account, it refuses to do so in the reasonably held belief that complying with the instruction would be incompatible with the requirement; and

(b) if the institution complies with such an instruction, it is liable to pay to the Authority an amount equal to the amount transferred from, or otherwise paid out of, A’s account in contravention of the requirement.

(6) If the Authority imposes a requirement of the kind mentioned in subsection (3)(b), no assets held by a person as trustee in accordance with the requirement may, while the requirement is in force, be released or dealt with except with the consent of the Authority.

(7) If, while a requirement of the kind mentioned in subsection (3)(b) is in force, A creates a charge over any assets of his held in accordance with the requirement, the charge is (to the extent that it confers security over the assets) void against the liquidator and any of A’s creditors.

(8) Assets held by a person as trustee (“T”) are to be taken to be held by T in accordance with a requirement mentioned in subsection (3)(b) only if—

(a) A has given T written notice that those assets are to be held by T in accordance with the requirement; or

(b) they are assets into which assets to which paragraph (a) applies have been transposed by T on the instructions of A.

(9) A person who contravenes subsection (6) is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

(10) “Charge” includes a mortgage (or in Scotland a security over property).

(11) Subsections (6) and (8) do not affect any equitable interest or remedy in favour of a person who is a beneficiary of a trust as a result of a requirement of the kind mentioned in subsection (3)(b).