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Five more arrested in SFC and ICAC joint operation against sophisticated ramp-and-dump syndicate

Issue date: 2023-03-15 18:17:20

Five key members of an active ramp-and-dump syndicate were arrested in a follow-up joint operation of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) mounted in the past two days (14 and 15 March).  The sophisticated syndicate is suspected of operating ramp-and-dump market manipulation involving illicit gains of $191 million through a complex shareholding network of Hong Kong-listed companies by corrupt means.  Eight other members of the syndicate were earlier arrested in another joint operation of the SFC and the ICAC (Note 1).

The five arrestees are key members of the syndicate, including qualified accountants and senior executives of a number of Hong Kong-listed companies. The joint operation of the SFC and the ICAC involved searches of various premises, including the offices and the residences of the arrestees.

Another eight people – including a suspected ringleader and other key members of the syndicate – were arrested on suspicion of corruption in an earlier joint operation mounted in November last year.

Intensive investigations by the SFC and the ICAC also revealed other criminal offences, including perverting the course of public justice and obstructing the SFC’s investigations (Note 2).

The SFC’s Executive Director of Enforcement, Mr Christopher Wilson, said: “The joint operation demonstrated our determination to tackle any form of corruption-facilitated market misconduct and zero tolerance of wrongdoers attempting to obstruct our investigations and pervert the course of justice.  We are committed to work with the ICAC to root out misconduct and uphold Hong Kong’s reputation as an international financial market.”

Deputy Commissioner and Head of Operations of the ICAC, Mr Ricky Yau Shu-chun, said: “The ICAC would not tolerate corruption or any illegal acts frustrating investigations by the Commission.  We will continue to collaborate with the SFC to track down the corrupt so as to sustain Hong Kong’s status as a clean international financial centre.  Perverting the course of public justice is a serious offence.  The ICAC would follow up on breaches of such offence in a serious manner.”

No further comment will be made at this stage as investigations are ongoing.

End

Notes:

1. Please see the joint press release of the SFC and the ICAC dated 10 November 2022.
2. Under section 382 of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO), it is a criminal offence if a person, without reasonable excuse, obstructs the SFC in performance of the statutory vested by the SFO.  The maximum penalty on indictment is two years imprisonment and a fine of $1 million.  Under section 101I of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance, if a person is convicted of an offence of perverting the course of justice at common law, he shall be liable to be sentenced at the discretion of the court to imprisonment for any term and a fine of any amount.

News captured as of:2023-03-15 18:17:21

Source: SFC