A person is guilty of an offence in terms of the Companies Act No. 71 of 2008 (“Act“) if the person:

• is a party to the falsification of any accounting records of a company;with a fraudulent purpose, knowingly provided false or misleading information in any circumstances in which the Act requires the person to provide information or give notice to another person;
• was knowingly a party to an act or omission by a company calculated to defraud a creditor or employee of the company, or a holder of the company’s securities, or with another fraudulent purpose; or
• is a party to the preparation, approval, dissemination or publication of a prospectus or a written statement that contains an “untrue statement”.

Any person convicted of an offence in terms of the Act, is liable in the case of a contravention of a breach of confidence and false statements, reckless conduct and non-compliance, to a fine or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 10 years, or to both a fine and imprisonment; or –in any other case, to a fine or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 12 months, or to both a fine and imprisonment.

07 October 2011