Rhode Island § 19-4-11 - Regulatory Oversight

§ 19-4-11. Summons of witnesses — Obstruction or refusal to give information — Prosecution of violations.

The director, or the director’s designee, may summon the directors, trustees, employees, officers, or agents of any regulated institution and any other witnesses that he or she thinks proper, and examine them relative to the affairs, transactions, and condition of the regulated institution, and for that purpose may administer oaths. Whoever, without justifiable cause, refuses to appear and testify when so required, or obstructs the director, or any of the director’s designees, in the performance of his or her duties, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000) or by imprisonment for not more than one year. If any person refuses to furnish any information requested by the director, or any of the director’s designees, under the authority of any chapter in this title, the director, or the director’s designee, may apply to the superior court and that court shall cause the person to come before it and shall inquire into the facts set forth in the application and may commit the person to jail until he or she shall comply with the request. If, in the opinion of the director, or the director’s designee, the regulated institution or its officers or trustees have violated any law relative to the regulated institution, the director, or the director’s designee, may report the violation to the attorney general, who may, on behalf of the state, institute a prosecution or other appropriate proceedings for the violation.