Companies Act 2014 section 944AG

Relevant director not to be liable to be penalised twice for same conduct

Section 944AG establishes the principle that a director cannot be penalised twice for the same conduct, ensuring protection against double jeopardy where the Corporate Enforcement Authority has imposed a monetary sanction or where criminal proceedings have already taken place.

• Where the Authority imposes a monetary sanction on a director, that director cannot also be prosecuted or punished for the same conduct under any other law of the State.
• Conversely, the Authority cannot impose a monetary sanction on a director who has already been charged and tried for a criminal offence arising from the same conduct, regardless of whether they were found guilty or not guilty.
• The protection applies where the conduct giving rise to the contravention is the same conduct, whether in whole or in part, as that which constitutes the offence under State law.
• The effect is to prevent a director from facing both an administrative monetary sanction from the Authority and a criminal prosecution for what is essentially the same behaviour.