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SFC sanctions Sino-Rich Securities & Futures Limited’s responsible officers

Issue date: 2021-07-19 16:30:00

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has suspended the licence of Mr Budihardjo Wilhelm Soeharsono – chief executive officer, director, responsible officer (RO) and money laundering reporting officer (MLRO) of Sino-Rich Securities & Futures Limited (Sino-Rich) – for 10 months from 15 July 2021 to 14 May 2022 (Note 1).

Mr Shing Yan, an RO and director of Sino-Rich, has been suspended for seven months from 15 July 2021 to 14 February 2022 (Note 2).

The disciplinary actions follow the SFC’s sanctions against Sino-Rich for failing to comply with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regulatory requirements between April 2015 and October 2017 (Note 3).

The SFC found that Sino-Rich’s failures were attributable to the failures of Budihardjo and Shing to discharge their duties as ROs and senior management members of Sino-Rich.  Budihardjo also failed to discharge his duties as an MLRO of Sino-Rich (Notes 4 & 5).

Specifically, the SFC found that they failed to:

• ensure that Sino-Rich established and implemented adequate and effective internal policies and procedures to detect, process and approve cash deposits and third party fund transfers;
• personally follow and/or diligently supervise staff members of Sino-Rich to ensure they followed Sino-Rich’s policies and procedures in relation to cash deposits and third party transfers; and
• ensure that Sino-Rich conducted proper enquiries on suspicious cash deposits and third party fund transfers and/or reported them to the Joint Financial Intelligence Unit.

In deciding the disciplinary sanctions, the SFC took into account all relevant circumstances, including the seriousness of Sino-Rich’s regulatory breaches, and their cooperation in resolving the SFC’s concerns.

End

Notes:

1. Budihardjo has been licensed under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO) since 25 June 2004.  Budihardjo has been accredited to Sino-Rich to carry on Type 1 (dealing in securities), Type 2 (dealing in futures contracts), Type 4 (advising on securities), Type 5 (advising on futures contracts) and Type 9 (asset management) regulated activities, and approved to act as its RO since 22 August 2011.
2. Shing has been licensed under the SFO since 13 September 2005.  Shing has been accredited to Sino-Rich to carry on Type 1 (dealing in securities) and Type 2 (dealing in futures contracts) regulated activities since 15 March 2011, and has been approved as its RO since 13 November 2015.
3. Sino-Rich was reprimanded and fined $7.2 million by the SFC.  Please refer to the SFC’s press release dated 15 March 2021.
4. General Principle 9 of the Code of Conduct for Persons Licensed by or Registered with the SFC (Code of Conduct) requires senior management of a licensed corporation to bear primary responsibility for ensuring the maintenance of appropriate standards of conduct and adherence to proper procedures by the firm.  Paragraph 14.1 of the Code of Conduct further provides that senior management of a licensed corporation should properly manage the risks associated with the firm’s business.
5. The roles and functions of an MLRO are set out in paragraphs 2.15 and 7.19 to 7.30 of the Guideline on Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (April 2015).

News captured as of:2021-07-19 16:35:00

Source: SFC