Section 68: Invitation to the public to deposit money by public companies

(1) A public company making an invitation to the public to deposit money with it shall, prior to the making of the invitation, obtain the written consent of the Commission and shall only make the invitation in accordance with such conditions and restrictions as may be imposed by the Commission.
(2) The Commission may in its absolute discretion grant or withhold the consent referred to in subsection (1) of this section, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, may require that any advertisement or circular to be used in connection with the invitation shall be registered with or approved by the Commission.
(3) If any advertisement or circular used in connection with the invitation contains any untrue statement then, subject to subsection (4) of this section, any person who made the invitation and every person who was a director of a company making the invitation at the time when the advertisement or circular was published commits an offence and is liable on conviction to pay compensation to any person who deposited money with the public company having relied on the advertisement or circular, for any loss they may have sustained by reason of such untrue statement.
(4) No person shall be liable under subsection (3) of this section, if he proves that:
(a) he had reasonable ground to believe and did believe up to the time of publication of the advertisement or circular that the statement was true; or
(b) the advertisement or circular was published without his knowledge and that on becoming aware of its publication he immediately gave reasonable public notice that it was published without his knowledge.
(5) If any person deposits any money with a public company as a result of an untrue statement of a material fact made, whether innocently or fraudulently, in any advertisement or circular published in connection with any invitation to the public made by or on behalf of that public company, the person shall be entitled to require the public company immediately to repay such money with interest at the current bank rate per annum or such higher rate as may have been agreed to be paid on the deposit.