Segregation of customer’s funds by futures broker
30.—(1)  The Board may, with the approval of the Minister, make regulations to provide that every commodity futures broker shall treat and deal with all money, securities or property received by him from a customer in such manner and in such separate accounts as may be prescribed.
(2)  Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), such regulations may —
(a)provide for the circumstances in which funds, securities or property received from a customer may be segregated and deposited in the same account;
(b)provide for the circumstances in and purposes for which funds may be withdrawn from separate trust accounts;
(c)provide for the exemption by the Board of any commodity futures broker or any class of commodity futures broker or any transaction or class of transaction relating to trading in commodity futures contract from any of the provisions of such regulations; and
(d)provide that a contravention thereof be punishable with a fine not exceeding $30,000 or with imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or with both.
(3)  Money, securities or property received from a customer and held by a commodity futures broker in a separate trust account under any regulations made pursuant to subsection (1) or (2) shall not be available for payment of the debts of the commodity futures broker to a creditor of the commodity futures broker or be liable to be attached or taken in execution under the order or process of any court at the instance of such creditor unless the creditor is a customer of the commodity futures broker and the debt owed to the creditor was incurred in connection with trading in commodity futures contracts.
(4)  Nothing in this section shall take away or affect a lawful claim or lien that a commodity futures broker has against, or on, any money, securities or property held in an account under any regulations made pursuant to subsection (1) or (2).
(5)  Nothing in this Act or any written law shall prevent a Commodity Futures Exchange or a clearing house, with the approval of the Board, from using the money, securities or property in a trust account to meet the obligations of a commodity futures broker, being a member of the Exchange or the clearing house, who defaults, if —
(a)the default of the commodity futures broker is directly attributable to the failure of his customer to meet the obligations under a commodity futures contract; and
(b)the failure to use the money, securities or property in a trust account might jeopardise the financial integrity of the Exchange or the clearing house.
(6)  In this section, “customer” means a person on whose account a commodity futures broker carries on trading in commodity futures contracts but does not include directors, employees and representatives and related corporations of the commodity futures broker.