The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has prohibited Mr Jonathan Dominic Iu Wai Ching from re-entering the industry for 15 years (Note 1).
The disciplinary action follows the Market Misconduct Tribunal’s (MMT) determination that Iu, a former responsible officer of Tarascon Capital Management (Hong Kong) Limited (Tarascon), had engaged in market misconduct by false trading in the shares of Sinopharm Tech Holdings Limited and Quantum Thinking Limited. He carried out the trades through the brokerage accounts of the hedge fund managed by Tarascon and of his mother, resulting in gains of $5.6 million in his mother’s brokerage account at the expense of the hedge fund (Notes 2 and 3).
The SFC concluded that Iu is not a fit and proper person to be licensed. In deciding the sanction, the SFC took into account all relevant considerations including:
Iu’s manipulative conduct, which spanned over two months, for the purpose of generating unlawful gain for his mother was serious and dishonest;
Iu violated the trust and confidence placed in him by his clients; and
a strong deterrent message must be sent to the market to deter other practitioners from committing similar conduct in the future.
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Notes:
Iu was licensed under the Securities and Futures Ordinance to carry on business in Type 9 (asset management) regulated activity. He was a responsible officer of Tarascon between 16 February 2007 and 30 September 2023. He ceased to be a licensed person and the approval for him to act as a responsible officer was revoked on 30 September 2023.
The MMT’s decision and a report which sets out the reasons of making the relevant orders is available on the MMT’s website.
Please see the SFC’s press releases dated 16 August 2022 and 3 July 2024.
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