The Securities and Futures Commission has shifted its investigative focus towards fraud and misconduct at the corporate level, according to executive director of enforcement Tom Atkinson, who said such malpractice had cost the Hong Kong stock market HK$200 billion. Atkinson, who became head of the SFC’s investigations unit in May, revealed that he has restructured his team to focus more on cracking down on corporate crime in a speech to 900 regional regulators, fund mangers and brokers on Wednesday at the Thomson Reuters 7th Pan Asian Regulatory Summit in Hong Kong.
Previous head of enforcement at Ontario Securities Commission
“At the top of our priorities are listed company-related issues. We are particularly concerned about risks posed by corporate fraud and misfeasance, market manipulation and intermediary misconduct,” he said. Atkinson, previously head of enforcement at Canada’s Ontario Securities Commission, succeeded Mark Steward who left the SFC in September 2015. Steward was known as a tough white-collar crime fighter during his 10 years with the regulator. He is now director of enforcement and market oversight for Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority.
Read more at South China Morning Post.
