Hong Kong's SFC Bans Chu Chun Wai for Seven Months

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) announced on Tuesday that it has banned Chu Chun Wai, a former responsible officer (RO) and executive director of Zhonghui International Futures Company Limited (ZIFC), for seven months from 29 December 2021 to 28 July 2022.

As detailed in the official press release, the regulator found that between May 2017 and July 2018, Chu failed to discharge his duties as an RO and a member of the senior management of ZIFC. Specifically, he failed to ensure ZIFC's maintenance of appropriate standards of conduct and adherence to proper procedures and to properly manage the risks associated with ZIFC's business.

Chu's failures were related to the:

• use of client supplied systems (CSSs) by ZIFC clients for placing orders;

• approval of client requests for setting up third party operated accounts; and

• ​monitoring of suspicious transactions in client accounts.

Recently, SFC has reprimanded and fined Grand International Futures Co., Limited​ (GIFCL) $8 million for failures in complying with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) and other regulatory requirements between October 2017 and October 2018.