Part 3: The Pensions Regulator Sanctions for avoidance of employer debt etc Section 107: Sanctions for avoidance of employer debt etc S58A: Offence of avoidance of employer debt
Subsection (1) of new section 58A states that it applies to occupational pension schemes other than money purchase schemes and other schemes as prescribed.
	Subsection (2) of new section 58A provides that a person commits an offence under this section only if:
	the person does an act or engages in a course of conduct that:
prevents the recovery of the whole or any part of a debt due from the employer under section 75 of the Pensions Act 1995,
prevents such a debt becoming due,
compromises or otherwise settles such a debt, or
reduces the amount of such a debt which would otherwise become due,
the person intended the act or course of conduct to have such an effect, and
the person did not have a reasonable excuse for doing the act or engaging in that course of conduct.
	Subsection (3) outlines that a reference in this section to an act or course of conduct includes a failure to act.
	Subsection (4) provides that the offence does not apply to a person who is acting in accordance with their function as an insolvency practitioner.
	Subsection (5) sets out that, for the purposes of this section, a debt due under section 75 of the Pensions Act 1995 includes a contingent debt under that section.
	Subsection (6) further sets out that in the case of such a contingent debt, the reference in subsection (2)(b) of this section, to preventing a debt becoming due is to be read as including a reference to preventing the occurrence of any of the events specified in section 75(4C)(a) or section 75(4C)(b) of the Pensions Act 1995 upon which the debt is contingent.
	Subsection (7) provides details of the sanction that a person guilty of an offence under this section is liable for. Subsection (7)(a) provides that on summary conviction in England and Wales, a person is liable to a fine. Subsection (7)(b) provides that in Scotland, a person is liable to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum. Subsection (7)(c) provides that on conviction on indictment, a person is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years, a fine, or both.
	Subsection (8) states that proceedings for an offence under this section may be instituted in England and Wales only by the Regulator or the Secretary of State, or by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
	Subsection (9) defines "insolvency practitioner" for the purposes of sections 58A to 58D to the Pensions Act 2004.