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General, and shall furnish to him such information and give to him such access to and facilities for Inspecting and taking copies of any documents, being Information or documents in the possession or under the control of the liquidator and relating to the matter in question, as he may require.
(3) Where any report is made under the last fore- going subsection to the Attorney General, he may, if he thinks fit, refer the matter to the official receiver for further enquiry, and he shall thereupon investigate the matter and may if he think it expedient, apply to the court for an order conferring on him or any person designated by him for the purpose with respect to the company concerned all such powers of investigating the affairs of the com- pany as are provided by this Ordinance in the case of winding up by the court.
(4) If on any report to the Attorney General under subsection (2) of this section it appears to him that the case is not one in which proceedings ought to be taken by him, he shall inform the liquidator accord. ingly; and thereupon, subject to the previous sanction of the court, the liquidator may himself take pro- ceedings against the offender.
(5) If it appears to the court in the course of a voluntary winding up that any past or present director, manager or other officer, or any member, of the company has been guilty as aforesaid, and that no report with respect to the matter has been made by the liquidator to the Attorney General under subsection (2) of this section, the court may, on the application of any person interested in the winding up or of its own motion, direct the liquidator to make such a report, and on a report being made accordingly the provisions of this section shall have effect as though the report had been made in pur- suance of the provisions of subsection (2) of this section.
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(6) If, where any matter is reported or referred to the Attorney General under this section, he considers that the case is one in which a prosecution ought to be instituted and, further, that it is desirable in the public interest that the proceedings in prosecution should be conducted by him, he shall institute proceedings accordingly, and it shall be the duty of the liquidator and of every officer and agent of the company past and present (other than the defendant in the proceedings) to give him all assist- ance in connection with the prosecution which he is reasonably able to give.
For the purposes of this subsection, the expression "agent" in relation to a company shall be deemed to include any banker or solicitor of the company and any person employed by the company as auditor, whether that person is or is not an officer of the company.
(7) If any person tails or neglects to give assistance in manner required by subsection (6) of this section, the court may, on the application of the Attorney General, direct that person to comply with the requirements of the said subsection, and where any such application is made with respect to a liquidator the court may, unless it appears that the failure or neglect to comply was due to the liquidator not having in his hands sufficient assets of the company to enable him so to do, direct that the costs of the application shall be borne by the liquidator personally.
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