Cap. 403 Art. 67Offences and penalties.

(1) Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with any of the provisions of this Act shall be guilty of an offence or infringement as prescribed by regulations issued in terms of this article.

(2) Any person -

(a) who, for the purpose of obtaining the issue of an authorisation under this Act or pursuant to any of the provisions of this Act or any regulations, Insurance Rules or Conduct of Business Rules made thereunder, furnishes information or makes a statement or a declaration which he knows to be inaccurate, false or misleading in any material particular, or recklessly furnishes information or makes a statement or a declaration which is inaccurate, false or misleading in any material particular; or

(b) who is knowingly a party to, or procures or aids and abets, any contravention of any provision of this Act any regulations, Insurance Rules or Conduct of Business Rules made thereunder, or

(c) who intentionally obstructs a person exercising rights conferred by this Act any regulations, Insurance Rules or Conduct of Business Rules made thereunder, or

(d) who is knowingly a party to the carrying on of the business of insurance with a fraudulent intent or for a fraudulent purpose; or

(e) who being a director, a controller, an officer or an employee of an undertaking -

(i) fails to take all reasonable steps to secure compliance by the undertaking with any of the provisions of this Act or of any regulations, of any regulations, Insurance Rules or Conduct of Business Rules made thereunder, or any authorisation or permit issued thereunder; or

(ii) fails to take reasonable steps to ensure the correctness of the statements made or other information given under any of the provisions aforesaid; or

(iii) removes, destroys, conceals or fraudulently alters any book, document or other paper with intent to avoid detection of the commission of an offence under any of the provisions aforesaid, shall be guilty of an offence.

(3) For the purposes of sub-article (2)(f), the expression "officer", in relation to an undertaking, shall include an insurance agent, an insurance manager, or a person, other than an insurance agent or an insurance manager, authorised to act for the undertaking in the same manner and to the same extent as an insurance agent.

(4) The Minister shall make regulations under this article prescribing penalties for offences against this Act, and such regulations may -

(a) prescribe penalties which are enforceable by prosecution in the courts of Malta;

(b) prescribe different penalties for contraventions of different provisions of this Act;

(c) prescribe penalties calculated in accordance with the duration of the commission of the offence, unless such penalties are otherwise imposed under article 64.

(5) The penalties prescribed by the regulations made under sub-article (4) -

(a) in the case of imprisonment, shall not provide for a sentence of imprisonment greater than four years;

(b) in the case of a fine imposed after a prosecution in the courts of Malta, shall not provide for a fine (multa) of less than two hundred and thirty euro (€230) or greater than four hundred and sixty-six thousand euro (€466,000); or

(c) may provide for both such fine and imprisonment.

(6) The Minister may by the regulations made under this article provide for administrative penalties in respect of infringements, as may be prescribed, which may be imposed and recovered by the competent authority without recourse to a court hearing; administrative penalties shall be due to the competent authority as a civil debt: Provided that an administrative penalty may not be greater than a financial penalty of one hundred and fifty thousand euro (€150,000) in respect of each infringement or failure to comply, as the case may be, and, where such infringement or failure to comply continues, a further penalty not exceeding one hundred and sixteen euro (€116) for each day during which the infringement or failure to comply continues: