§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Trade, in the past 10 years, following how many reports and formal inquiries, papers have been sent by his 375W Department to the Director of Public Prosecutions; and in how many and which cases prosecutions of individuals or companies have resulted.
§ Mr. Clinton DavisNot all of the information sought is readily available and the cost of obtaining it would not be justified. However, below is a table showing inquiries carried out under the investigatory provisions of the Companies Acts and the number of prosecutions undertaken—either by the Director of Public Prosecutions or the Department—so far as these can be ascertained. Some of the inquiries are still in progress and others which have been completed are the subject of further inquiries by the police with a view to the consideration or institution of criminal proceedings. The figures
Inquiries under Companies Acts 1948 1967 Prosecutions Undertaken Files opened by the Director of Public Prosecutions† S. 164/5 S. 172 S. 32 S. 109 S. 164/5 S. 109 1965 … … 4 1 — — 1 — 61 1966 … … 14 — — — 3 — 74 1967 … … 18 — — 27 2 + 6 70 1968 … … 16 — — 47 7 + 10 55 1969 … … 26 — — 62 9 + 11 80 1970 … … 15 — — 61 8 + 2 79 1971 … … 24 — — 103 6 + 7 87 1972 … … 6 — — 110 3 + 5 75 1973 … … 10 1 1 81 1 + 4 73 1974 … … 26 2 — 130* — 2 78 * In 51 cases where inquiries were first made under Section 109, there were further subsequent inquiries under Sections 164/5 and 172. † The number of files opened by the Director of Public Prosecutions include all references made to him by the Department. The numbers of reports forwarded by Official receivers who are concerned with compulsory liquidations and bankrupties
Prosecution reports by Official Receivers Prosecutions by the Department Compulsory Liquidations Bankruptcies Compulsory Liquidations Bankruptcies 1965 … … 77 357 25 185 1966 … … 123 367 34 189 1967 … … 110 396 53 218 1968 … … 104 494 37 249 1969 … … 111 463 42 232 1970 … … 103 527 25 249 1971 … … 113 464 42 275 1972 … … 117 516 42 244 1973 … … 74 519 38 224 1974 … … 103 542 * 259 * Not yet available. Figures for offences prosecuted by the Director of Public Prosecutions and by police prosecuting authorities based wholly or in part on reports submitted by official receivers are not readily available. Statistics of prosecutions and convictions under the Companies Acts
376Wgiven for prosecutions relate to the years in which the inquiries were commenced.
It is the practice to submit all reports under Sections 164, 165 and 172 to the Director of Public Prosecutions for consideration and also information obtained under Section 109 where there appears to be prima facie offences, unless the offences disclosed are of a minor nature and which the Department usually prosecute—for example, failing to keep proper books of accounts. Additionally, the Department exercises its powers under Section 35 of the Companies Act 1967 to petition for the winding up of companies and under Section 37 of the same Act to bring civil proceedings on behalf of the company to recover monies for either creditors or shareholders.
in England and Wales, and of the relevant prosecutions by the Department are as follows:
and the Bankruptcy Acts, and other legislation appear in the Companies Annual Reports and the Bankruptcy Annual Reports for 1973 and previous years, copies of which are available in the Library.