5 more arrested by SFC and ICAC in Hong Kong ‘ramp-and-dump’ stocks scam

Qualified accountants and senior executives of Hong Kong-listed companies among those arrested over the past two days, regulators say

Operation shows commitment to rooting out misconduct, upholding ‘Hong Kong’s reputation as an international financial market’: SFC executive

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Exchange Square in Hong Kong’s Central district. Photo: May Tse

Published: 10:51pm, 15 Mar 2023Updated: 10:10am, 16 Mar 2023

Five more people have been arrested in Hong Kong for their alleged involvement in a so-called ramp-and-dump syndicate, following the arrests of eight others involved in the scam in November, underscoring regulators’ “zero tolerance” for stock-market manipulation.

Among those arrested over the past two days are qualified accountants and senior executives of Hong Kong-listed companies, according to a joint statement on Wednesday by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

They are suspected to be key members of the syndicate, which reaped illegal gains of HK$191 million (US$24.3 million), the statement said.

The eight others arrested in November on suspicion of corruption in a joint operation by the SFC and ICAC included the suspected ringleader of the syndicate.

We are committed to working with the ICAC to root out misconduct and uphold Hong Kong’s reputation

Christopher Wilson, SFC executive director of enforcement

“The joint operation demonstrates our determination to tackle any form of corruption-facilitated market misconduct, and zero tolerance for wrongdoers attempting to obstruct our investigations and pervert the course of justice,” Christopher Wilson, the SFC’s executive director of enforcement, said in the statement.