Hong Kong authorities arrest 8 over alleged insider trading involving brokerages, hedge fund
2026-03-12 - 11:45
Hong Kong’s anti-graft watchdog and financial regulator have arrested eight people and raided the offices of three firms over suspected insider dealing and corruption worth HK$315 million in illicit profits. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) said on Thursday that they conducted a joint operation, codenamed “Fuse,” this week targeting senior executives of two securities firms and a hedge fund management company. Six men and two women, aged 35 to 60, were arrested, while 14 locations, including the firms’ offices and the suspects’ homes, were raided on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to a joint statement. The suspects included senior executives of the two licensed brokerages and the licensed hedge fund firm, as well as a middleman, the statement read. Authorities suspected that senior executives of the securities firms accepted more than HK$4 million in bribes from the owner of the hedge fund firm for leaking confidential information about share placements of several Hong Kong-listed companies. Exchange Square in Central, Hong Kong. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. The hedge fund allegedly used insider information to build short positions in stocks – selling stocks and buying them back at a lower price to profit from a price decline – and made profits of around $315 million. The ICAC-SFC joint statement did not name the firms involved in the investigation. However, Hong Kong-listed brokerage Guotai Junan International said on Thursday that the SFC and ICAC searched its offices and seized documents on Tuesday and that one of its employees was detained by the anti-graft watchdog. According to the Chinese-language statement, Guotai Junan suspended the employee on Tuesday until further notice. The brokerage added that its operations and finances remained “stable” and would disclose information regarding the investigation in accordance with Hong Kong’s listing rules.