Article 99
1.
Without prejudice to the supervisory powers of competent authorities referred to in Article 98 and the right of Member States to provide for and impose criminal sanctions, Member States shall lay down rules on administrative sanctions and other administrative measures to be imposed on companies and persons in respect of infringements of national provisions transposing this Directive and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented.
Where Member States decide not to lay down rules for administrative sanctions for infringements which are subject to national criminal law, they shall communicate to the Commission the relevant criminal law provisions.
Administrative sanctions and other administrative measures shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.
By 18 March 2016, Member States shall notify the laws, regulations and administrative provisions transposing this Article, including any relevant criminal law provisions, to the Commission and ESMA. Member States shall notify the Commission and ESMA without undue delay of any subsequent amendments thereto.
2.
Where Member States have chosen, in accordance with paragraph 1, to lay down criminal sanctions for infringements of the provisions referred to in that paragraph, they shall ensure that appropriate measures are in place so that competent authorities have all the necessary powers to liaise with judicial authorities within their jurisdiction to receive specific information relating to criminal investigations or proceedings commenced for possible infringements of this Directive and provide the same to other competent authorities and ESMA in order to fulfil their obligation to cooperate with each other and ESMA for the purposes of this Directive.
Competent authorities may also cooperate with competent authorities of other Member States with respect to facilitating the recovery of pecuniary sanctions.
3.
As part of its overall review of the functioning of this Directive, the Commission shall review, not later than 18 September 2017, the application of the administrative and criminal sanctions, and in particular the need to further harmonise the administrative sanctions laid down for infringements of the requirements laid down in this Directive.
4.
A competent authority may refuse to act on a request for information or a request to cooperate with an investigation only in the following exceptional circumstances, namely where:
(a)
communication of relevant information might adversely affect the security of the Member State addressed, in particular the fight against terrorism and other serious crimes;
(b)
compliance with the request is likely to affect adversely its own investigation, enforcement activities or, where applicable, a criminal investigation;
(c)
judicial proceedings have already been initiated in respect of the same actions and against the same persons before the authorities of the Member State addressed; or
(d)
a final judgment has already been delivered in relation to such persons for the same actions in the Member State addressed.
5.
Member States shall ensure that where obligations apply to UCITS, management companies, investment companies or depositaries, in the event of an infringement of national provisions transposing this Directive, administrative penalties or other administrative measures may be applied, in accordance with national law, to the members of the management body and to other natural persons who are responsible, under national law, for the infringement.
6.
In accordance with national law, Member States shall ensure that, in all cases referred to in paragraph 1, the administrative penalties and other administrative measures that may be applied include at least the following:
(a)
a public statement which identifies the person responsible and the nature of the infringement;
(b)
an order requiring the person responsible to cease the conduct and to desist from a repetition of that conduct;
(c)
in the case of a UCITS or a management company, suspension or withdrawal of the authorisation of the UCITS or the management company;
(d)
a temporary or, for repeated serious infringements, a permanent ban against a member of the management body of the management company or investment company or against any other natural person who is held responsible, from exercising management functions in those or in other such companies;
(e)
in the case of a legal person, maximum administrative pecuniary sanctions of at least EUR 5 000 000 or, in the Member States whose currency is not the euro, the corresponding value in the national currency on 17 September 2014, or 10 % of the total annual turnover of the legal person according to the last available accounts approved by the management body; where the legal person is a parent undertaking or a subsidiary of the parent undertaking which has to prepare consolidated financial accounts in accordance with Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 22 ), the relevant total annual turnover shall be the total annual turnover or the corresponding type of income in accordance with the relevant Union law in the area of accounting according to the last available consolidated accounts approved by the management body of the ultimate parent undertaking;
(f)
in the case of a natural person, maximum administrative pecuniary sanctions of at least EUR 5 000 000 or, in the Member States whose currency is not the euro, the corresponding value in the national currency on 17 September 2014;
(g)
as an alternative to points (e) and (f), maximum administrative pecuniary sanctions of at least twice the amount of the benefit derived from the infringement where that benefit can be determined, even if that exceeds the maximum amounts in points (e) and (f).
7.
Member States may empower competent authorities, under national law, to impose types of penalty in addition to those referred to in paragraph 6 or to impose pecuniary penalties exceeding the amounts referred to in points (e), (f) and (g) of paragraph 6.
( 22 ) Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings, amending Directive 2006/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directives 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC (OJ L 182, 29.6.2013, p. 19).