The Eastern Magistrates’ Court today convicted Mr Wong Ming Chung of providing investment advice to a Telegram subscription chat group he hosted without a licence, in a prosecution by Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC).
Wong pleaded guilty to a charge of providing securities advice when he was not licensed to do so and was fined $10,000. He was also ordered to pay the SFC’s investigation costs.
Although Wong is an SFC licensed agent, he can only act for the firm he is accredited to. In this case, Wong managed the Telegram chat group in his personal capacity.
The Court found that between January 2, 2018 and May 21, 2019, Wong hosted a Telegram chat group called “FRANKY – Instant Live Broadcast Valley” which was opened to the public by paid subscription. Each trading day, Wong released comments and answered questions from subscribers in the Telegram group about the performance of the Hang Seng Index and various Hong Kong-listed securities.
The SFC reminds investors to check the SFC’s Public Register of Licensed Persons and Registered Institutions on the SFC website (www.sfc.hk) before investing to ensure that companies and individuals providing securities investment advice are properly licensed.