Singapore legislation
Section 46
Section 46
Confidentiality of inspection and investigation reports
(1)
Where a written report or any part of the report (called in this section the report) has been produced in respect of any bank in Singapore or subsidiary incorporated in Singapore of a bank incorporated in Singapore —
by the Authority upon an inspection under section 43 or an investigation under section 44; or
by a parent supervisory authority upon an inspection under section 45,the report must not be disclosed by the bank or subsidiary, or any officer or auditor of the bank or subsidiary, to any other person except in the circumstances provided under subsection (2).
(2)
Disclosure of the report mentioned in subsection (1) may be made —
by the bank in Singapore or subsidiary incorporated in Singapore of a bank incorporated in Singapore to any officer or auditor of that bank or subsidiary solely in connection with the performance of the duties of the officer or auditor (as the case may be) in that bank or subsidiary;
by any officer or auditor of the bank in Singapore or subsidiary incorporated in Singapore of a bank incorporated in Singapore to any other officer or auditor of that bank or subsidiary, solely in connection with the performance of their duties in that bank or subsidiary;
to the Authority if requested by the Authority, where the report has been produced by a parent supervisory authority; or
to any other person as the Authority may approve in writing.
(3)
In granting written approval for any disclosure under subsection (2)(d), the Authority may impose such conditions or restrictions as it thinks fit on the bank, the subsidiary, any officer or auditor of the bank or subsidiary, or the person to whom disclosure is approved, and the bank, subsidiary, officer, auditor or person (as the case may be) must comply with those conditions or restrictions.
(4)
The obligation on an officer or auditor mentioned in subsections (1) and (3) continues after the termination or cessation of the officer’s or auditor’s employment or appointment at the bank or subsidiary.
(5)
Any person who contravenes subsection (1) or fails to comply with any condition imposed by the Authority under subsection (3) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —
in the case of an individual, to a fine not exceeding $125,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both; or
in any other case, to a fine not exceeding $250,000.
(6)
Any person to whom the report is disclosed and who knows or has reasonable grounds for believing, at the time of the disclosure, that the report was disclosed to the person in contravention of subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence, unless the person proves that —
the disclosure was made contrary to the person’s desire;
where the disclosure was made in any written form, the person has as soon as practicable surrendered or taken all reasonable steps to surrender the report and all copies of the report to the Authority; and
where the disclosure was made in an electronic form, the person has as soon as practicable taken all reasonable steps to ensure that all electronic copies of the report have been deleted and that the report and all copies of the report in other forms have been surrendered to the Authority.