500Auditor’s right to information from overseas subsidiaries
(1)Where a parent company has a subsidiary undertaking that is not a body corporate incorporated in the United Kingdom, the auditor of the parent company may require it to obtain from any of the following persons such information or explanations as he may reasonably require for the purposes of his duties as auditor.
(2)Those persons are—
(a)the undertaking;
(b)any officer, employee or auditor of the undertaking;
(c)any person holding or accountable for any of the undertaking’s books, accounts or vouchers;
(d)any person who fell within paragraph (b) or (c) at a time to which the information or explanations relates or relate.
(3)If so required, the parent company must take all such steps as are reasonably open to it to obtain the information or explanations from the person concerned.
(4)A statement made by a person in response to a requirement under this section may not be used in evidence against him in criminal proceedings except proceedings for an offence under section 501.
(5)Nothing in this section compels a person to disclose information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege (in Scotland, to confidentiality of communications) could be maintained in legal proceedings.