Hong Kong Customs yesterday (February 3) detected a case involving a local company that conducted transactions of jewellery valued at over HK$120,000, without registration under the Dealers in Precious Metals and Stones Regulatory Regime. The owner of the company was arrested. The investigation is ongoing. The arrested person has been released on bail. According to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (Cap. 615), unless exempted, any person who

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) today set forth in a circular highly concerning issues related to serious deficiencies in the preparation of some listing documents, sponsors’ potential misconduct and significant mismanagement of resources amidst a surge in new listing applications in 2025 (Note 1).   In reviewing recent listing applications, the SFC and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (SEHK) identified a number of serious deficiencies in the preparation o

In an era where Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Web3 technologies are deeply integrating, financial professionals are facing unprecedented regulatory challenges. On January 26, 2026, Aaron, Director of Corporate Advisory at Prudent , was invited as a guest speaker for the "AI Asset Manager Workshop (CPT Certified)" hosted by the Hong Kong Securities & Futures Professionals Association (HKSFPA) . During the session, Aaron shared the latest regulatory pulses in the Virtual As

AUSTRAC has ordered the appointment of an external auditor to assess whether payment platform, Airwallex Designated Business Group (Airwallex DBG), is meeting its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) obligations, following concerns about potential non-compliance. AUSTRAC Chief Executive Officer, Brendan Thomas, said external audits are a critical regulatory tool to assess serious compliance concerns and to protect the financial system from criminal

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) today issued a joint consultation on standardising the calculation periods (Note 1) for each year under the Clearing Rules (Note 2) for the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives regulatory regime. Under the current approach that requires the central clearing of OTC derivative transactions, the existing list of calculation periods specified in the Clearing Rules needs to be updated regularly.

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has suspended Ms Choi Sau Wai, a former licensed representative of Glory Sun Securities Limited (GSSL), for seven months from 23 January 2026 to 22 August 2026 (Note 1). As part of an investigation into a suspected ramp-and-dump scheme, the SFC found that, between October 2019 and January 2022, Choi knowingly allowed and facilitated an account executive of another brokerage firm (AE) to operate and carry out personal trades in a cli

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has suspended the licence of Mr Wong Chi Fai, a former licensed representative of Fulbright Securities Limited and Fulbright Futures Limited (collectively Fulbright), for 27 months from 23 January 2026 to 22 April 2028 (Note 1). As part of an investigation into a suspected ramp-and-dump scheme, the SFC found that, between October 2019 and January 2022, unbeknownst to Fulbright, Wong conducted approximately 1,300 securities transacti

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has obtained orders in the Court of First Instance against three former directors and senior executives of Superb Summit International Group Limited (Superb Summit), requiring the trio to pay a total of $595 million in compensation to Superb Summit for orchestrating and/or participating in fraudulent schemes to defraud the company (Notes 1 and 2). The outcome of SFC’s legal action against the trio – Mr Yang Dongjun, a shadow directo

The Eastern Magistrates’ Courts today convicted Mr Ng Ka Hei of seven counts of false trading in the shares of six Hong Kong-listed companies following a criminal prosecution by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) (Notes 1 and 2).  The SFC alleged that between 20 September 2022 and 24 October 2023, Ng employed a strategy commonly known as “scaffolding” by repeatedly placing and cancelling trading orders at progressively higher prices. He also used his various securiti