Civil penalty
232.—(1)  Whenever it appears to the Authority that any person has contravened any provision in this Part, the Authority may, with the consent of the Public Prosecutor, bring an action in a court against him to seek an order for a civil penalty in respect of that contravention.
(2)  If the court is satisfied on a balance of probabilities that the person has contravened a provision in this Part which resulted in his gaining a profit or avoiding a loss, the court may make an order against him for the payment of a civil penalty of a sum —
(a)not exceeding 3 times —
(i)the amount of the profit that the person gained; or
(ii)the amount of the loss that he avoided,
as a result of the contravention; or
(b)equal to $50,000 if the person is not a corporation, or $100,000 if the person is a corporation,
whichever is the greater.
(3)  If the court is satisfied on a balance of probabilities that the person has contravened a provision in this Part which did not result in his gaining a profit or avoiding a loss, the court may make an order against him for the payment of a civil penalty of a sum not less than $50,000 and not more than $2 million.
(4)  Notwithstanding subsections (2) and (3), the court may make an order against a person against whom an action has been brought under this section if the Authority, with the consent of the Public Prosecutor, has agreed to allow the person to consent to the order with or without admission of a contravention of a provision in this Part and the order may be made on such terms as may be agreed between the Authority and the defendant.
(5)  Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the Authority from entering into an agreement with any person to pay, with or without admission of liability, a civil penalty within the limits referred to in subsection (2) or (3) for a contravention of any provision in this Part.
(6)  A civil penalty imposed under this section shall be payable to the Authority.
(7)  If the person fails to pay the civil penalty imposed on him within the time specified in the court order referred to in subsection (4) or specified under the agreement referred to in subsection (5), the Authority may recover the civil penalty as though the civil penalty were a judgment debt due to the Authority.
[1/2005]
(8)  Any defence that is available to a person who is prosecuted for a contravention of any provision in this Part, shall also be available to a defendant to an action under this section in respect of that contravention.
[SIA, s.104A]