16.—(1) A person is guilty of an offence if—
(a)for the purposes of obtaining financial assistance for himself or any other person he knowingly or recklessly makes a statement which is false or misleading in a material particular; or
(b)he intentionally obstructs an authorised person (or a person accompanying him and acting under his instructions) in the exercise of his powers under regulation 9.
(2) Any person who is guilty of an offence under this regulation is liable—
(a)in the case of an offence under paragraph (1)(a)—
(i)on indictment, to a fine; or
(ii)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;
and
(b)in the case of an offence under paragraph (1)(b), to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
(3) Where an offence under this regulation committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of that body or any person who was purporting to act in such a capacity, he also is guilty of the offence and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
(4) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, paragraph (3) applies to acts and defaults of a member in connection with his management functions as if he was a director.