The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has secured the first conviction of a Hong Kong practising solicitor for breaching the secrecy provision under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO), following a prosecution in the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts. Mr Tse Yin Fung pleaded guilty and was fined HKD 25,000, and was also ordered to pay the SFC’s investigation costs. Tse, the principal of O Tse & Co., received confidential information about an SFC restriction notice relating to an individual under investigation and disclosed it to two other individuals on 9 February 2021. The disclosure contravened sections 378(7) and 378(11) of the SFO; the SFC noted that breaches of the secrecy obligation can attract, on indictment, a maximum fine of HKD 1 million and imprisonment for up to two years, or on summary conviction, a maximum fine of HKD 100,000 and imprisonment for up to six months, and regulated persons may also face disciplinary action. The breach was identified in the course of SFC investigations into suspected ramp-and-dump cases involving a sophisticated syndicate.
Hong Kong Securities & Futures Commission 2025-01-02
Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission secures first conviction of a solicitor for breaching Securities and Futures Ordinance secrecy provision
The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) secured the first conviction of a Hong Kong practising solicitor, Mr Tse Yin Fung, for breaching the secrecy provision under the Securities and Futures Ordinance. Tse pleaded guilty to disclosing confidential information and was fined HKD 25,000, with additional orders to pay the SFC’s investigation costs. The breach was identified during SFC investigations into suspected ramp-and-dump cases.