Clause 48

The Registrar shall have power to —

attend, personally or by his representative, general meetings and committee meetings of a society and require by written directions every society to send to him, at the proper time, notice and agenda of every meeting, and all minutes and communications in respect thereof;

convene extraordinary general meetings in accordance with the provisions of this Act;

rescind any resolution or action of an officer or a committee of management or of a general meeting of a society which, in his opinion, is outside the objects of the society as defined in the by-laws;

require, by written directions, a credit society to —

make provision for bad or doubtful debts or any other matter;

secure repayment of any loan;

cease to receive any deposit from, or grant any loan to, any person or class of persons or impose such restrictions on the receipt of any deposit or the grant of any loan as the Registrar thinks fit;

cease to carry on any partnership, joint venture or other arrangement with any person; or

otherwise reduce or cease any exposure to any person or class of persons, or impose such restrictions on any exposure to any person or class of persons as the Registrar thinks fit; and

prohibit or restrict, by written directions, the granting of loans on a mortgage or charge of immovable property by any credit society or class of credit societies.(2) The Registrar may from time to time issue written directions, either of a general or specific nature, to any society, any class of societies or all societies to comply with such requirements as he may specify in the written directions.(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2), written directions may be issued —

with respect to the standards to be maintained by a society in the conduct of its affairs;

with respect to the provision of any financial service by a credit society, including the establishment of any branch of the credit society and facilities for the provision of such financial service;

with respect to the investment policies and procedures to be maintained by a society; or

for any purpose specified in this Act or the rules made thereunder.(4) The Registrar may at any time vary, rescind or revoke any written direction issued under subsection (2).(5) For the avoidance of doubt, any written direction issued under subsection (2) shall be deemed not to be subsidiary legislation.Power to freeze bank accounts93A.—

Where the Minister is satisfied that it is necessary to prevent the loss or misuse of the funds of a society, the Minister may, by order, direct any financial institution not to pay any money out or not to pay cheques drawn on the account of the society for a specified period not exceeding 3 months.(2) A financial institution which complies with an order of the Minister under subsection (1) shall be relieved of any liability to any other person in respect of the payment prohibited by the order.(3) Any financial institution which contravenes an order of the Minister under subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000.(4) In this section, “financial institution”, in relation to a society, means a bank licensed under the Banking Act (Cap. 19), a finance company licensed under the Finance Companies Act (Cap. 108), or any other society that is a credit society.Codes, guidelines, etc., by Registrar93B.—

The Registrar may from time to time issue, and publish in such form and manner as he considers appropriate, such circulars, codes, guidelines and practice notes as he deems fit for providing guidance —

in furtherance of the regulatory objectives of this Act;

in relation to any matter relating to any of the functions or powers of the Registrar under this Act; or

in relation to the operation of any provision of this Act or the rules made thereunder.(2) The Registrar may, at any time, amend or revoke the whole or any part of any circular, code, guideline or practice note issued under this section.(3) Where amendments are made under subsection (2) —

the other provisions of this section shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to such amendments as they apply to the circular, code, guideline or practice note; and

any reference in this Act, the rules made thereunder or any other written law to the circular, code, guideline or practice note, however expressed, shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be a reference to the circular, code, guideline or practice note as so amended.(4) Any person who fails to comply with any circular, code, guideline or practice note issued under this section that applies to him shall not of itself render that person liable to criminal proceedings, but any such failure may, in any proceedings, whether civil or criminal, be relied upon by any party to the proceedings as tending to establish or negate any liability which is in question in the proceedings.(5) For the avoidance of doubt, any circular, code, guideline or practice note issued under this section shall be deemed not to be subsidiary legislation.”.