Companies Act 2014 section 762

Expenses of investigation by court appointed inspector

Section 762 deals with who pays for investigations carried out by court-appointed inspectors and how those costs can be recovered from various parties.

• The relevant authority (the Minister for Justice and Equality or the Corporate Enforcement Authority, depending on the type of appointment) must initially cover all investigation expenses.
• The court may direct a company named in the inspector's report, or the party who applied for the inspector's appointment, to reimburse the relevant authority for some or all of those expenses.
• Where criminal convictions or civil orders result from the investigation, the court may order the wrongdoer to repay investigation costs to the relevant authority or to any party already held liable for expenses.
• A person who has been awarded damages or had property restored as a result of the investigation may be ordered to contribute up to 10% of those damages or property value towards investigation costs, but only after they have actually received the damages or property.