Conflicts of interest

(1) A director or officer of an insurer or insurance intermediary who– (a) is a party to a material loan, contract or transaction, or a proposed material loan, contract or transaction with the insurer or insurance intermediary; or (b) is a director or officer of, or has a material interest in or a material relation to, any person who is a party to a material loan, contract or 74 transaction, or a proposed material loan, contract or transaction with the insurer or shall disclose in writing to the insurer or intermediary the nature and extent of the material interest or relation. (2) The disclosure required by sub-section (1) shall be made by the director or officer to the board of directors in writing when the matter or proposed contract comes or ought reasonably to have come to the attention of the director or officer. (3) Notwithstanding sub-section (2), a director or officer sufficiently discloses a material interest in relation to a contract if that director or officer gives a written notice to the board of directors which– (a) discloses every person with whom the director or officer has a commercial, financial, agricultural, industrial or other business or family interest– (i) at the time the director or officer is appointed or employed; and (ii) from time to time, not being less than annually; and (b) indicates that the director or officer is to be regarded as having a material interest in any material contract between the insurer or insurance intermediary and the person disclosed under paragraph (a). (4) A director or officer who has a material interest or a material relation within the meaning of sub-section (1) or (3) shall leave any meeting at which the matter is discussed, and shall refrain from voting on any matter related thereto which becomes the subject of action by the board of directors of the insurer or intermediary, provided that such an interest, if so disclosed, shall not disqualify the interested person for purposes of constituting a quorum. (5) For the purposes of sub-sections (1) and (3), a director or officer shall be deemed to have a material interest in, or material relation to, another person, if that director or officer, or the spouse, parent, sibling or child of that director or officer– (a) is or was, during the last fiscal year, an officer, director or partner of or had a controlling interest or substantial investment in that person; (b) owes money or is otherwise indebted to, or is a guarantor of any obligation of that person in an amount exceeding two per cent of the fully paid-up uncommitted capital referred to in section 11, the deposit referred to in section 24 and the statutory funds referred to in section 26, and that person is an insurer; (c) engages or engaged during the last fiscal year in any transaction with that person in an amount which exceeds ten per cent of the director’s or officer’s net worth; or (d) is the spouse, parent, sibling or child of any person described in paragraph (b) or (c). (6) If a director or officer fails to comply with this section, the Supervisor may– (a) require the insurer or insurance intermediary to suspend the director or officer from office; or (b) remove the director or officer from office. 76 (7) This section shall not apply to the directors or officers outside Belize of an overseas company. (8) A director or officer who contravenes sub-section (1), (3) or (4) commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of twenty five thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term of one year, or to both such fine and imprisonment.