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8 1997

CENTRAL BANK ACT, 1997

PART V

Supervision of Bureaux de Change

Definitions (Part V).

28. —In this Part—

authorisation” means an authorisation granted to a person by the Bank under this Part to carry on bureau de change business;

bureau de change business” means any business which consists of the provision of foreign currency exchange services to the public but excluding—

(a) the provision of such services by a person or body referred to in section 32 (1) (a) to (k) or (m) of the Criminal Justice Act, 1994 , in the normal course of the business of such person or body, or

(b) the provision of such services on an ancillary basis by a trader to customers in the normal course of business.

Prohibition of carrying on of bureau de change functions.

29. —(1) A person shall not carry on bureau de change business at any time after this section has been in operation for six months unless the person has been granted an authorisation for the purposes of this section and the authorisation has not been revoked.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this section, the Bank may grant or refuse to grant to any person applying to it an authorisation to carry on bureau de change business.

(3) The Bank shall not refuse an authorisation without the consent of the Minister and unless it is satisfied that the authorisation would not be in the interest of the orderly regulation of bureau de change business in the context of the effective implementation of the money laundering provisions of the Criminal Justice Act, 1994 .

(4) The Minister shall not grant his or her consent to the refusal unless he or she is satisfied that the authorisation would not be in the interest of the orderly regulation of bureau de change business in the context of the effective implementation of the money laundering provisions of the Criminal Justice Act, 1994 .

(5) Whenever the Bank proposes to refuse an authorisation to a person—

(a) it shall notify the person in writing that it intends to seek the consent of the Minister to the refusal and of its reasons for the refusal and that the person may, within 21 days after the date of the giving of the notification, make representations in writing to the Minister in relation to the proposed refusal,

(b) the person may make such representations in writing to the Minister within the time aforesaid, and

(c) the Minister shall, before deciding to grant or refuse to grant his or her consent, consider any representations duly made to him or her under this subsection in relation to the proposed refusal.

(6) An application for an authorisation shall be in such form and contain such particulars as the Bank may from time to time determine.

(7) The authorisation of a person under this section shall not constitute a warranty as to the solvency of the person to carry on bureau de change business and the Bank shall not be liable in respect of any losses incurred through the insolvency or default of the person.

Requirements or conditions for bureaux de change.

30. —Every person carrying on bureau de change business shall comply with any requirements or conditions relating to that business that the Bank considers prudent to impose on that person from time to time for the purposes and in the interest of the orderly regulation of bureau de change business in the context of the effective implementation of the money laundering provisions of the Criminal Justice Act, 1994 .

Application of section 17 of Act of 1971 to bureaux de change.

31. —Without prejudice to section 30 of this Act, section 17 of the Act of 1971 shall apply as if every person authorised by the Bank to carry on bureau de change business were the holder of a licence for the purposes of the Central Bank Acts, 1942 to 1997.

Failure by bureaux de change to comply with requirements or conditions.

32. —(1) Where, on an application made in a summary manner by the Bank, the Court is of the opinion that there has occurred or is occurring a failure by a person carrying on bureau de change business to comply with a requirement or condition imposed by virtue of section 30 , the Court may by order prohibit the continuance of the failure by the person concerned.

(2) The Court when considering the matter may make such interim or interlocutory order as it considers appropriate.

(3) Where the Court is satisfied, because of the nature or the circumstances of the case or otherwise in the interests of justice, that it is desirable, the whole or any part of proceedings under this section may be heard otherwise than in public.

Publication of names.

33. —(1) The Bank shall publish from time to time, but not less frequently than once every twelve months, in such manner as it thinks fit, the names of persons authorised to carry on bureau de change business.

(2) The Bank shall as soon as may be after the revocation of an authorisation publish a notice of the revocation in such manner as it thinks fit.

Offences and penalties.

34. —A person who contravenes subsection (1) of section 29 or a person carrying on bureau de change business who fails by act or omission to comply with a requirement or condition imposed on that person under section 30 shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,500 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or to both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £50,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or to both,

and, if the contravention, breach or failure in respect of which such person was convicted is continued after conviction, that person shall be guilty of an offence on every day on which the contravention, breach or failure continues after conviction in respect of the original contravention, breach or failure and for each such offence that person shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £100 or on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding £5,000.

Revocation of authorisations.

35. —(1) The Bank may—

(a) revoke an authorisation if the person to whom it was granted so requests,

(b) with the consent of the Minister, revoke an authorisation if the person to whom it was granted—

(i) (I) has not commenced to carry on bureau de change business within 12 months of the date on which the authorisation was granted, or

(II) has ceased to carry on bureau de change business and has not carried it on during a period of more than six months immediately following the cesser,

(ii) is adjudicated bankrupt,

(iii) being a partnership, the partnership is dissolved by death or bankruptcy of any partner, or otherwise under the law of partnership,

(iv) being a company, is being wound up,

(v) has obtained the authorisation through false statements or any other irregular means,

(vi) becomes unable to meet the obligations of that person to the creditors of that person or suspends payments lawfully due or can no longer be relied upon to fulfil those obligations,

(vii) is convicted on indictment of an offence under any provision of the Central Bank Acts, 1942 to 1997 or an offence under any provision of the Criminal Justice Act, 1994 , or an offence involving fraud, dishonesty or breach of trust,

(viii) has a head office in another state that is a member of the European Communities and the authority in that state that exercises in that state functions corresponding to those of the Bank under this Part has withdrawn authorisation from the institution of which the holder is a branch,

(c) with the consent of the Minister, revoke the authorisation if, since the grant of the authorisation, the circumstances relevant to the grant have changed and are such that, if an application for an authorisation were made in the changed circumstances, it would be refused.

(2) Whenever the Bank proposes to revoke an authorisation other than in circumstances to which paragraph (a) or (b) (viii) of subsection (1) relates, then—

(a) the person to whom it was granted:

(i) shall be notified in writing that the Bank intends to seek the consent of the Minister to the revocation, the reasons for the revocation and that the person may, within 21 days after the date of the giving of the notification, make representations in writing to the Minister in relation to the proposed revocation,

(ii) may make such representations in writing to the Minister within the time aforesaid, and

(b) the Minister shall, before deciding to give or withhold his or her consent, consider any representations duly made to him or her under this subsection in relation to the proposed revocation.

Amendment of Consumer Credit Act, 1995.

36. —The Consumer Credit Act, 1995, is hereby amended—

(a) by the insertion after section 149 of the following section:

“149A—(1) Section 149 shall apply to a person who has been granted an authorisation by the Central Bank under Part V of the Central Bank Act, 1997, to carry on bureau de change business, as if—

(a) each reference to ‘credit institution’ were a reference to ‘a person authorised to carry on bureau de change business under Part V of the Central Bank Act, 1997’,

(b) the reference to ‘three months’ in subsection (1) were a reference to ‘three months after the granting of an authorisation under Part V of the Central Bank Act, 1997,’,

(c) the reference to ‘banking or financial business’ in subsection (7) (a) were a reference to ‘bureau de change business’,

(d) the reference to ‘banking or financial business’ in subsection (8) (a) (ii) were a reference to ‘bureau de change business’, and

(e) subsection (12) (c), (d) and (e) were repealed.

(2) Nothing in this section shall cause a person authorised to carry on bureau de change business under Part V of the Central Bank Act, 1997, to be treated as a credit institution for any purpose other than as specified in this section.”,

and

(b) by the insertion, in section 150, after “credit institution” of “or of a person authorised to carry on bureau de change business under Part V of the Central Bank Act, 1997.”.