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SFC issues restriction notices to 10 brokers to freeze client accounts linked to a suspected social media ramp-and-dump scam

Issue date: 2023-04-25 16:31:20

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has issued restriction notices to 10 brokers, prohibiting them from dealing with or processing certain assets held in 31 trading accounts which are related to a suspected social media ramp-and-dump scam involving the shares of a company listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited between November 2021 and June 2022 (Notes 1 & 2).

The 10 brokers are: China Industrial Securities International Brokerage Limited, Quam Securities Limited, Futu Securities International (Hong Kong) Limited, Imperium International Securities Limited, Lego Securities Limited, Phillip Securities (Hong Kong) Limited, Silverbricks Securities Company Limited, uSmart Securities Limited, Valuable Capital Limited and Webull Securities Limited.

The restriction notices prohibit the 10 brokers, without the SFC’s prior written consent, from disposing of or dealing with, or assisting, counselling or procuring another person to dispose of or deal with, any assets in any way in the trading accounts up to a certain amount, including: (i) entering into transactions in respect of any securities; (ii) processing any withdrawals or transfers of securities and/or cash on the instructions of any authorized person of the accounts or by any person acting on their behalf; (iii) disposing of or dealing with any securities and/or cash on the instructions of any authorized person of the accounts or by any person acting on their behalf; and/or (iv) assisting another person to dispose of any relevant property or deal with any relevant property in a specified manner. The brokers are also required to notify the SFC if they receive any of these instructions.

The SFC considers that the issue of the restriction notices is desirable in the interest of the investing public or in the public interest.

The SFC’s investigation is continuing.

End

Notes:

1. The SFC issued the restriction notices pursuant to sections 204 and 205 of the Securities and Futures Ordinance.　
2. A social media ramp-and-dump scam is a form of stock market manipulation where fraudsters use different means to “ramp” up the share price of a listed company and then induce investors via social media platforms to purchase the shares that the fraudsters “dump” at an artificially high price.

Source: SFC