30.—(1) The Board may, with the approval of the Minister, make regulations to provide that every commodity broker and 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provide for the circumstances in and purposes for which funds may be withdrawn from separate trust accounts;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 broker, commodity futures broker or any class of commodity brokers or commodity futures brokers or any transaction or class of transaction relating to —
(i)
in the case of commodity brokers, trading in commodity contracts; or
(ii)
in the case of commodity futures brokers, trading in commodity futures contracts,
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 broker or a commodity futures broker in a separate trust account under any regulations made under subsection (1) shall not be —
(a)
available for payment of the debts of the commodity broker or commodity futures broker to a creditor of the commodity broker or commodity futures broker; or
(b)
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 broker or commodity futures broker and the debt owed to the creditor was incurred in connection with trading in any commodity contract.
(4) Nothing in this section shall take away or affect a lawful claim or lien that a commodity broker or commodity futures broker has against, or on, any money, securities or property held in an account under any regulations made under subsection (1).
(5) Nothing in this Act or any written law shall prevent a commodity market or Commodity Futures Exchange or a clearing house, with the approval of the Board, from using the money, securities or property held in a trust account to meet the obligations of a commodity broker or commodity futures broker, being a member of the market or Exchange or the clearing house, who defaults, if —
(a)
the default of the commodity broker or commodity futures broker is directly attributable to the failure of his customer to meet the obligations under a commodity contract or commodity futures contract; and
(b)
the failure to use the money, securities or property held in a trust account may jeopardise the financial integrity of the market, Exchange or the clearing house.
(6) In this section, “customer” means a person on whose account a commodity broker or commodity futures broker carries on trading in any commodity contract or commodity futures contract, but does not include directors, employees and representatives and related corporations of the commodity broker or commodity futures broker.