s 220 Action by Commission in cases of non-compliance with Code and rulings
(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 218(4), where any person who is under an obligation to comply with, observe or give effect to the provisions of this Division or the Code, or any ruling made under subsection 217(4), contravenes or fails to comply with, observe or give effect to any such provision or ruling, the Commission may take one or more of the following actions: (a) direct the person in breach to comply with, observe or give effect to any such provision of the Code or rulings; (b) impose a penalty, in proportion to the severity or gravity of the breach on the person in breach, but in any event not exceeding one million ringgit; (c) reprimand the person in breach; (d) direct a stock exchange to deprive the person in breach access to the facilities of the stock exchange; (e) where the person in breach is a listed corporation, direct the stock exchange— (i) to suspend trading in the securities of the corporation; (ii) to suspend the listing of the corporation; or (iii) to remove from the official list the corporation or the class of securities of the corporation; (f) where the person in breach is a corporation that is not listed, direct any stock exchange to prohibit the listing of any of its securities; (g) direct a stock exchange to prohibit the person in breach from engaging in transactions to be executed through the use of the facilities of the stock exchange; or (h) require the person in breach to take such steps as the Commission may direct to remedy the breach or mitigate the effect of such breach, including making restitution to any other person aggrieved by such breach. (2) The Commission shall give a written notice to a person in breach of its intention to take action under subsection (1) and shall give the person in breach an opportunity to be heard prior to it taking any action under subsection (1). (3) The court may, in a case where the Commission gives a direction under paragraph (1)(a) or (h), on an application by the Commission, make an order directing the person in breach to comply with, observe or give effect to those provisions of the Code or rulings. (4) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(h), in determining whether or not restitution is to be made by a person in breach, the Commission shall have regard to— (a) the profits that have accrued to such person in breach; or (b) whether one or more persons have suffered loss or been otherwise adversely affected as a result of the breach. (5) Where a person has failed to comply with a penalty imposed by the Commission under paragraph (1)(b), the penalty imposed by the Commission may be sued for and recovered as a civil debt due to the Government of Malaysia. (6) Without prejudice to any other remedy, where a direction under paragraph (1)(h) had required the person in breach to make restitution in the form of monetary payment, and the person in breach fails to pay the restitution, the Commission may sue for and recover the restitution as a civil debt due to the persons aggrieved by the breach. (7) To the extent that any of the amount obtained under paragraph (1)(h) or subsection (6) has not been distributed due to the difficulty of ascertaining or notifying the aggrieved persons, such amount shall be paid to— (a) the compensation fund maintained under Part IV; or (b) retained by the Commission to defray the costs of regulating the capital market, as the Commission, with the approval of the Minister, may determine. (8) Nothing in this section shall preclude the Commission from taking any of the actions that it is empowered to take under this Act or any of the provisions of the securities laws against the person in breach. (9) For the purposes of this section— “breach” means a failure to comply with, observe or give effect to the provisions of this Part or the Code or any ruling made under subsection 217(4), in circumstances where there is an obligation to do so; “person in breach” means a person who contravenes or fails to comply with, observe or give effect to the provisions of this Part or the Code or any ruling made under subsection 217(4), in circumstances where the person is under an obligation to do so.