Financial Services (Banking Reform) Act 2013

93 Offences relating to disclosure of confidential information

(1) A person who discloses information in contravention of section 91 is guilty of an offence.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) is liable—

(a) on summary conviction—

(i) in England and Wales, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or a fine, or both;

(ii) in Scotland, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or both;

(iii) in Northern Ireland, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or both;

(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or a fine, or both.

(3) A person is guilty of an offence if—

(a) information has been disclosed to the person in accordance with regulations made under section 92, and

(b) the person uses the information in contravention of any provision of those regulations.

(4) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (3) is liable on summary conviction—

(a) in England and Wales, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks (or 3 months, if the offence was committed before the commencement of section 280(2) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003) or a fine, or both;

(b) in Scotland, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or both;

(c) in Northern Ireland, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or both.

(5) In proceedings against a person (“P”) for an offence under this section it is a defence for P to prove—

(a) that P did not know and had no reason to suspect that the information was confidential information;

(b) that P took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid committing the offence.

(6) In this section “confidential information” has the same meaning as in section 91.