Written answers
Tuesday, 2 April 2019
Department of Finance
Central Bank of Ireland Enforcement Actions
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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131. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of court prosecutions initiated by the Central Bank in each of the years 2014 to 2018; the result of each of these court cases; the number and values of fines issued in each year; the value of fines collected each year; the value of fines still outstanding in respect of these prosecutions; the arrangements in place to collect the outstanding fines; if he will provide an age analysis of these outstanding fines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15340/19]
Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware the Central Bank’s primary enforcement mechanism for the imposition of monetary fines and other administrative sanctions for breach of financial services legislation is the Administrative Sanctions Procedure under Part IIIC of the Central Bank Act, 1942 (as amended) (the ASP). The ASP provides for sanctions to be imposed by way of an independent inquiry process or as part of early resolution of enforcement actions pre-inquiry in certain circumstances, as distinct from a court process. In response to this particular request, the following are the relevant statistics on enforcement actions under the ASP and the fines imposed in respect of them:
| - | 2014 € | 2015 € | 2016 € | 2017 € | 2018 € | Total 2014-2018 € |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fines Imposed | 5,422,450 | 7,338,040 | 12,075,750 | 7,239,970 | 7,441,000 | 39,517,210 |
| Fines Waived | 0 | 5,105,000* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5,105,000 |
In 2015, fines were waived in two cases: in the INBS case (€5m) as it would not have been in the public interest to pursue the collection of the fine in circumstances where the firm did not have any assets; and in the Tadhg Gunnell case (PCM Bloxham Stockbrokers) (€105k) as he had been adjudicated bankrupt four months prior to the settlement.
Further details of our settlements are available on the Central Bank website (link below). It is our policy to pursue payment of fines imposed, however, this is rarely necessary. Currently there is only one small fine outstanding in the relevant period and we continue to pursue this amount.
www.centralbank.ie/news-media/legal-notices/enforcement-actions.
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