An insolvent shall be guilty of an offence and liable to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years if at any time before or after the sequestration of his estate he does any of the following acts, unless it is proved that he had no intention to defraud; that is to say, if he—
| (a) |
conceals, parts with, destroys, mutilates, falsifies or makes any false entry or erasure in any book or document relating to his business, property or affairs or permits any other person to commit any such act in regard to any such book or document; or |
| (b) |
conceals or permits the concealment of any assets which ought to be placed at the disposal of the trustee; or |
| (c) |
otherwise than in the ordinary course of business makes, or permits the making of a disposition of any property which he has obtained on credit and has not paid for; or |
| (d) |
otherwise than in the ordinary course of business destroys, damages, removes or makes a disposition of, or permits the destruction, damage, removal or the making of a disposition of, any assets in his estate if such destruction, damage, removal or disposition has prejudiced or is calculated to prejudice his creditors: |
Provided that—
| (i) |
whenever in any proceedings for a contravention of paragraph (a) any act described in that paragraph is proved to have been committed in regard to any book or other document relating to the business, property or affairs of the insolvent, he shall be deemed to have committed or permitted such act unless it is proved that he neither committed it nor could have prevented the commission; |
| (ii) |
in any proceedings for a contravention of paragraph (c) or paragraph (d) any disposition, destruction, damage or removal of assets proved to have been committed shall, unless the contrary is proved, be deemed to have been otherwise than in the ordinary course of business; |
| (iii) |
if it appears from any book or document relating to the business, property or affairs of the insolvent or if it is proved in any other manner whatsoever that there ought to be available to the trustee at least ten per cent. more assets of the estate than the assets actually available to him, such insolvent shall be deemed to have removed or made a disposition of assets of a value equal to the difference between the value of the assets which ought to be available, and the value of the assets actually so available, in contravention of paragraph (d), unless he fully and accurately accounts for or explains the deficiency and proves that the deficiency was not caused by his action and that he could not have prevented it. |
Housing Development Agency Act, 2008
