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The Eastern Magistrates Court today convicted two gold bullion agents, Mr Lai Ka Ki and Mr Lam Yiu Kwan, for issuing invitations to the public to participate in a collective investment scheme without first obtaining the authorization of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) (Note 1).
Acting Principal Magistrate Ms Bina Chainrai fined Lai and Lam $3,000 each and ordered them to pay the SFC investigation costs after they pleaded guilty to the offence.
The Court heard that in September 2011, Lai and Lam posted a message on the webpage of their respective Facebook accounts, inviting people to participate in a scheme in which investors’ funds would be pooled for the purpose of investing in gold. They also said at the time that the scheme promised no risk of loss.
Mr Mark Steward, SFC’s Executive Director of Enforcement said, “A scheme that promises no risk of loss is too good to be true. The SFC detected this scheme very quickly after the invitation was posted and prevented any investors from losing money. Investors should ignore offers like this one.”
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Note:
- Under section 103 of the Securities and Futures Ordinance, and subject to specified exemptions, it is an offence to issue advertisements, invitations or documents in relation to investments in a collective investment scheme without the authorization of the SFC.
