Any person that obtains control of a domestic insurer is subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of the State with regard to any action, whether initiated by the Commissioner or otherwise, arising out of a violation of this title.

In addition to any other penalty provided by law, a person that willfully violates this title or any regulation adopted under this title is subject to a penalty of up to $10,000 for the first day of violation and up to $1,000 for each additional day that the violation continues. In determining the amount of any financial penalty to be imposed under this section, the Commissioner shall consider the following factors: the seriousness of the violation; the good faith of the violator; the violator’s history of previous violations; the deleterious effect of the violation on the public and the insurance industry; and the assets of the violator. Before imposing a penalty under this subsection, the Commissioner: shall give the person that allegedly committed the violation notice and an opportunity for hearing; and must find that the person willfully committed the violation.

A director or an officer of an insurance holding company system who knowingly participates in, assents to, or allows any of the officers or agents of an insurer to engage in transactions or investments that have not been properly reported or submitted under Subtitles 6 and 7 of this title, shall pay, in the director’s or officer’s individual capacity, a civil penalty in accordance with § 7–802 of this subtitle, after notice and an opportunity for hearing before the Commissioner. In determining the amount of the civil penalty, the Commissioner shall take into account the factors in § 7–802(b) of this subtitle. Whenever it appears to the Commissioner that an insurer subject to this title, or a director, an officer, an employee, or an agent of the insurer, has engaged in a transaction or entered into a contract that is subject to Subtitle 7 of this title and that would not have been approved if the approval had been requested, the Commissioner may order the insurer to cease and desist immediately any further activity under that transaction or contract. After notice and an opportunity for hearing, the Commissioner also may order the insurer to void any contracts and restore the status quo if, in the Commissioner’s judgment, the action is in the best interest of the policyholders, the creditors, or the public.

Any violation of this title is an unfair trade practice in the business of insurance and is subject to the provisions of Title 27 of this article. In addition to any other penalty provided by law, with respect to a person that engages in an unfair trade practice, the Commissioner, after giving the person notice and an opportunity for a hearing, may take any or all of the following actions: deny the person’s application for a license or certificate of authority, refuse to renew or revoke the person’s license or certificate of authority, or suspend the person’s license or certificate of authority for a period not exceeding 1 year; proceed against the person in a court of competent jurisdiction in or outside the State to enjoin an act that would violate this title or to invalidate a transaction made in violation of this title; or order compliance with this title, including the filing of evidence of compliance and periodic reports about that compliance, and enforce those orders by denying, refusing to renew, suspending, or revoking any license or certificate of authority or otherwise under the laws of the State.

If the Commissioner finds that a violation of this title impairs the financial condition of a domestic insurer so as to threaten insolvency or make the further transaction of business hazardous to policyholders, creditors, shareholders, or the public, the Commissioner may institute proceedings in accordance with Title 9, Subtitle 2 of this article to take possession of the domestic insurer’s property and conduct its business.

If a person acquires or offers to acquire stock of an insurer or of an insurance holding company in violation of Subtitle 3 of this title, the following persons may petition a court of competent jurisdiction in the State for injunctive and other appropriate relief: the issuer of the stock; a stockholder of the issuer; if the issuer is an insurance holding company, a stockholder of a subsidiary that is an insurer; a stockholder of the insurer; or the Commissioner. Whenever it appears to the Commissioner that an insurer or a director, an officer, an employee, or an agent of the insurer has committed or is about to commit a violation of this title or any regulation or order of the Commissioner under this title, the Commissioner may petition a court of competent jurisdiction in the State for an order enjoining the insurer or the director, officer, employee, or agent from violating or continuing to violate this title or any regulation or order, and for other equitable relief that the nature of the case and the interest of the insurer’s policyholders, creditors, and shareholders or the public may require. No security that is the subject of an agreement or arrangement regarding acquisition, or that is acquired or to be acquired contrary to this title or any regulation or order of the Commissioner under this title, may be voted at any shareholder’s meeting, or may be counted for quorum purposes, and any action of shareholders requiring the affirmative vote of a percentage of shares may be taken as though the securities were not issued and outstanding. An action taken at the meeting may not be invalidated by the voting of the securities, unless the action would materially affect control of the insurer or unless the courts of this State have so ordered. If an insurer or the Commissioner has reason to believe that any security of the insurer has been or is about to be acquired contrary to this title or any regulation or order of the Commissioner under this title, the insurer or the Commissioner may petition a court of competent jurisdiction in the State: to enjoin any offer, request, invitation, agreement, or acquisition made contrary to Subtitle 4 of this title or any regulation or order of the Commissioner under that subtitle; to enjoin the voting of any security so acquired; to void any vote of the security already cast at any meeting of shareholders; and for other equitable relief that the nature of the case and the interest of the insurer’s policyholders, creditors, and shareholders or the public may require. In any case where a person has acquired or is proposing to acquire any voting securities in violation of this title or any regulation or order of the Commissioner under this title, a court of competent jurisdiction in the State, on notice that the court considers appropriate, on the application of the insurer or the Commissioner, may seize or sequester any voting securities of the insurer owned directly or indirectly by the person and issue an order appropriate to carry out this title. Notwithstanding any other law, for the purposes of this section, the location of the ownership of the securities of domestic insurers shall be deemed to be in the State.

Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, when an order for liquidation, conservation, or rehabilitation of a domestic insurer is entered, the receiver appointed under the order may recover for the domestic insurer the following distributions and payments made within 1 year before the petition for liquidation, conservation, or rehabilitation was filed: from any parent corporation, holding company, affiliate, or person that otherwise controlled the domestic insurer, the amount of distributions, other than distributions of shares of the same class of stock, paid by the domestic insurer on its capital stock; and any payment in the form of a bonus, termination settlement, or extraordinary lump sum salary adjustment made by the domestic insurer or its subsidiaries to a director, officer, or employee. A distribution is not recoverable under this section if the parent or affiliate shows that when the distribution was paid: the distribution was lawful and reasonable; and the domestic insurer did not know and could not reasonably have known that the distribution might adversely affect the ability of the domestic insurer to fulfill its contractual obligations. The maximum amount recoverable under this section is the amount needed in excess of all other available assets of the impaired or insolvent domestic insurer to pay the contractual obligations of the impaired or insolvent domestic insurer and to reimburse any guaranty funds. A person that was a parent corporation, holding company, or person that otherwise controlled the domestic insurer or affiliate when a distribution was paid is liable for an amount not exceeding the distribution received. A person that otherwise controlled the domestic insurer when a distribution was declared is liable for an amount not exceeding the amount that the person would have received in an immediate distribution. Two or more persons that are liable with respect to the same distribution are jointly and severally liable. To the extent that a person liable to pay claims under this subsection is insolvent or otherwise fails to pay claims due, the liable person’s parent corporation or holding company and any other person that otherwise controlled the liable person when the distribution was paid are jointly and severally liable for any resulting deficiency in the amount recovered from the domestic insurer’s parent corporation or holding company or any other person that otherwise controlled the domestic insurer.

Whenever it appears to the Commissioner that any insurer or any director, officer, employee, or agent of the insurer has committed a willful violation of this title or any regulation adopted or order issued under this title, the Commissioner may institute criminal proceedings in a court of competent jurisdiction against the insurer or the responsible director, officer, employee, or agent. Any insurer that willfully violates this title or any regulation adopted or order issued under this title may be fined in accordance with subsection (b) of this section. Any officer, director, employee, or agent of an insurance holding company system who willfully and knowingly subscribes to or makes or causes to be made any false statement, report, or filing with the intent to deceive the Commissioner in the performance of the Commissioner’s duties under this article is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or imprisonment not exceeding 5 years or both. Any fines imposed under this section shall be paid by the officer, director, employee, or agent in his or her individual capacity.