Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) announced today that it has issued restriction notices to 10 brokers, prohibiting them from handling certain assets in 31 trading accounts.

According to official reports, the accounts were linked to an alleged stock flipping scam on social media involving shares of a company listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited between November 2021 and June 2022.

The ten brokers involved are as follows: China Industrial Securities International Brokerage Limited, Quam Securities Limited, Futo Securities International (Hong Kong) Limited, Imperium International Securities Limited, Lego Securities Limited, Phillip Securities (Hong Kong) Limited, Silverbricks Securities Company Limited, uSmart Securities Limited, Valuable Capital Limited and Webull Securities Limited.

In the interest of the investing public or in the public interest, the Hong Kong Regulator prohibits such brokers from disposing of or dealing with, or assisting, counselling or causing others to dispose of or deal with, any assets in a trading account not exceeding a certain amount in any way without their prior written consent, including:

To conduct transactions in relation to any securities;

Withdraw or transfer any securities and/or cash at the direction of any authorized person of the account or any person acting on their behalf;

Dispose of or deal with any securities and/or cash at the direction of any authorized person of the account or any person acting on their behalf;

Assist another person to dispose of any related property or dispose of any related property in a particular manner. If these brokers receive any of these instructions, they must also notify the SFC.