s 23 Residential property not to be purchased or acquired by citizen or approved purchaser as nominee of foreign person
23.—(1) A —(a) citizen or approved purchaser must not purchase or acquire any estate or interest in any residential property that is not non‑restricted residential property as a nominee of any foreign person with the intention that the citizen or approved purchaser is to hold it in trust for that foreign person; and (b) foreign person must not authorise or appoint as the foreign person’s nominee any citizen or approved purchaser to purchase or acquire any estate or interest in any residential property that is not non‑restricted residential property with the intention that that citizen or approved purchaser is to hold it in trust for that foreign person. (2) Any trust created in whatever manner or form pursuant to subsection (1) is void and there is no resulting trust in favour of the foreign person; and any contract or covenant between such citizen or approved purchaser and the foreign person in respect of such residential property or any estate or interest therein is void. (3) The Registrar, upon discovering that any instrument of transfer contains any such void trust and the instrument is pending final registration or has been finally registered by the Registrar, must enter a note in that instrument or the registration copy thereof (as the case may be) stating that such trust is void by virtue of subsection (2). (4) Any person who contravenes subsection (1)(a) or (b) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both.[35/2010] (5) The court is to, in respect of any defendant charged with committing any offence under subsection (1)(a) or (b) —(a) take into account any confiscation order made under section 23A before imposing any fine on the defendant; and (b) subject to paragraph (a), leave the confiscation order out of account in determining the appropriate sentence or other manner of dealing with the defendant.