During the investigation stage of each enforcement case, a regulated financial entity/individual under investigation will receive an Investigation Letter which identifies the suspected prescribed contraventions that the Central Bank suspects on reasonable grounds that the regulated financial service provider/individual is committing or has committed. The regulated entity/individual will be requested to respond in writing in respect of a number of issues, for example:
- Confirmation, whether the regulated entity/individual admits or denies each of the suspected prescribed contraventions
- Detailed explanations and/or submissions, supported by evidence, about each of the suspected prescribed contraventions
- Specify, with respect to each suspected prescribed contravention, if the issue has been rectified and identify the date of the rectification
- If rectified, a detailed description of the solution implemented
- Any additional source documents and/or information relevant to this examination/investigation.
A regulated entity/individual may receive a Settlement Letter from the Central Bank at the same time as, or at any time after, it receives the Investigation Letter. The Settlement Letter, which is issued on a “without prejudice” basis, is a letter offering the possibility to resolve the suspected prescribed contraventions with the Central Bank by way of a settlement agreement.
At any stage, a regulated entity/individual who has received an Investigation Letter may write to the Central Bank requesting settlement negotiations in order to attempt to resolve the suspected prescribed contraventions. The Central Bank will, in appropriate cases, issue the regulated financial entity/individual with a Settlement Letter in response to a request to initiate the settlement process.
The settlement procedure runs in parallel with an investigation and it should be noted that an indication of willingness to enter into settlement discussions does not cause the suspension of an investigation.