The Eastern Magistrates’ Court today convicted Mr Ng Kai Shing of providing false or misleading information to the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in two licensing applications.
Ng was fined $40,000 and ordered to pay the SFC’s investigation costs after pleading guilty to three counts of making false or misleading representation in applications for a licence (Note 1).
The court heard that, in July and December 2011 respectively, Ng in two SFC licence applications claimed that his company, Hong Kong Securities Holdings Limited (Hong Kong Securities), had liquid capital and paid-up share capital that satisfied the minimum requirements under the Securities and Futures (Financial Resources) Rules (FRR) when in fact the amounts were substantially below the minimum requirements. In respect of each licence application, Ng caused money to be transferred temporarily into the bank account of Hong Kong Securities to meet the FRR requirements, and then transferred the money out shortly afterwards (Note 2).
Notes:
- Under section 383 of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO), it is a criminal offence if a person, in an application to the SFC made under or pursuant to the SFO, knowingly or recklessly makes a materially false or misleading representation. The information regarding the financial status of an applicant who applies for a licence to carry on a regulated activity is a material particular as the SFC places great weight on such information in considering whether or not to grant a licence.
- Hong Kong Securities was licensed under the SFO to carry on Type 1 (dealing in securities) regulated activity between March and November 2012. Ng is a director and shareholder of Hong Kong Securities.