Failure by the directors of an investment firm or portfolio management company to request the appointment of the firm’s or company’s statutory auditors or to convene them to the general meeting is punishable by two years’ imprisonment and a fine of 30,000 euros.
It is a criminal offence for the directors of an investment firm or portfolio management company, or for any person in the service of such a firm or company, to obstruct the verifications or controls of the statutory auditors or to refuse to provide, on the spot, all documents useful for the performance of their duties, and in particular all contracts, books, accounting documents and minute books, to be punished by five years’ imprisonment and a fine of 75,000 euros.