Hong Kong’s SFC Committee (SFC) has suspended Mr Joey Lo Wai Hon, a former MTF Securities Limited manager for four months.
The suspension will last until January 29, 2026. Lo is said to have failed to properly manage the credit risks and identify and report suspicious customer trading standards.
Disciplinary action follows SFC’s findings that MTF has failed to maintain effective policies and procedures to ensure the proper management of credit risk and effective continuing monitoring of the monitoring system to detect, examine and report suspicious trading, Fighting legislation and the compensation of terrorism.
The SFC believes that MTF’s failures are due to LO’s failure to fulfill its duties as RO and a member of the MTF higher administration during the material time.
SFC’s survey found that shortly after three cash customers had opened their accounts and deposited only $ 10,000 with MTF in January 2021, MTF granted each of these financial limits of customers ranging from $ 4 million to $ 5 million at the request of MTF by MTF. the financial situation of customers.
The regulator also found that the three customers used the trading limits to carry out transactions that were incompatible with the financial statements of two of them. These transactions have shown further suspicious features, which should cause reasonable suspicion of possible market mistreatment and money laundering.
However, MTF has failed to identify these transactions as suspects, to follow them or to ensure that they were reported both in a timely manner in both the Joint Financial Information Unit and the SFC.
In the decision of the disciplinary ratification against LO, the SFC took into account that:
- MTF’s failures are serious as they could undermine public confidence and harm market integrity.
- A deterrent message must be sent to the market that such failures are not accepted.
- Lo worked with SFC to solve SFC concerns. and
- LO has one otherwise clean disciplinary file.