Companies Act 2014 section 406

False statements in returns, financial statements, etc.

Section 406 makes it a serious criminal offence for any person to knowingly include false information in returns, financial statements, or other documents required under the financial statements and audit provisions of the Companies Act.

• Any person who intentionally makes a false statement in a return, financial statement, or other required document commits an offence.
• The false statement must be false in a material particular — trivial or inconsequential inaccuracies are not the target of this provision.
• The person must have known the statement was false at the time they made it — an honest mistake is not sufficient to trigger the offence.
• The offence is classified as a category 2 offence, which is a serious criminal offence under the Companies Act.