The Eastern Magistrates’ Court today convicted Gold Root Global Investments Limited (GRG Investments) of dealing in futures contracts through its website between March and April 2013 without a licence from the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) (Note 1).
GRG Investments pleaded guilty and was fined $10,000 and ordered to pay the SFC’s investigation costs.
Dealing in futures contracts for others as a business needs a SFC licence, but GRG Investments never applied to the SFC for a licence.
The SFC is also prosecuting Mr Jacky Chan Cheuk Ki and Mr Chiang Ching Fung, respectively, the former Dealing Director and Chief Executive Officer of GRG Investments, for aiding, abetting, counselling, procuring or inducing or consenting to or conniving in the commission of GRG Investments’ offence. They both pleaded not guilty (Notes 2 & 3).
The case of Chan and Chiang was adjourned to 8 December 2016 for a pre-trial review.
The SFC reminds investors not to deal with unlicensed firms or people in order to protect their own interests. Investors can visit the SFC website (www.sfc.hk) to check whether a firm or person is licensed.
Notes:
- Dealing in futures contracts is a type of regulated activity under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO). Under section 114(1)(a) of the SFO, it is an offence to carry on a business in a regulated activity without a licence from the SFC.
- Chan and Chiang were prosecuted for the same offence committed by GRG Investments under sections 114 and 390 of the SFO.
- Under section 390 of the SFO, if an offence under the SFO by a corporation is proved to have been aided, abetted, counselled, procured or induced by, or committed with the consent or connivance of, or attributable to any recklessness on the part of, any officer of the corporation, or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, that person, as well as the corporation, is guilty of the offence and is liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
