Part 3 – Register of Overseas Entities Offences Section 172: General false statement offences
This section substitutes section 32 of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 and adds new section 32A. The effect of the amendment is that the false statement offence is now split into the "basic" and "aggravated" offence (to maintain consistency with section 1112 of the Companies Act 2006), and both offences are expanded to include that a false statement offence can be committed by a legal entity, and, where this is the case, by every officer of the entity in default.
	The penalty for committing the "aggravated offence" is amended in line with the Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022. If a person is convicted on indictment, the penalty is a prison sentence of up to two years, or a fine, or both. This has not changed. The penalties for a summary conviction under new section 32A are set out in subsection (3) of new section 32A. In England and Wales, the penalty for conviction of a summary offence is amended to imprisonment for a term not exceeding the general limit in a magistrate’s court or a fine (or both). The penalties on conviction in Scotland or Northern Ireland have not changed.