Judge orders to confiscate $111m from ex-warrants trader
2018-5-7
A judge has ordered to confiscate realisable assets amounting to $111 million from a former trader of a derivative warrants liquidity provider (LP) convicted of operating a scheme to fraudulently trade derivative warrants after being charged by the ICAC.
Raymond Ng Chun-to, 50, was found guilty at the District Court of four counts of conspiracy to defraud, contrary to Common Law, on January 9, 2015 after a re-trial, and subsequently sentenced to four and a half years’ imprisonment.
On the day of conviction of Ng, the prosecutor applied to the court for an order to confiscate the restrained assets of Ng under Section 8 of the Organised and Serious Crimes Ordinance.
Pursuant to the application, Judge Frankie Yiu Fun-che granted the order against Ng last Friday (May 4) for the confiscation of his realisable assets amounting to $111 million.
The judge ordered that Ng be required to serve an additional term of nine years’ imprisonment should he be in default of the confiscation order.
The case arose from a corruption complaint. Subsequent ICAC enquiries revealed the above offences.
The court heard that at the material time, Calyon Financial Products (Guernsey) Limited, Citigroup Global Markets Holdings Incorporation, Standard Bank PLC and Dresdner Bank AG were derivative warrants issuers in Hong Kong.
Respectively, the four issuers appointed CLSA Limited, Citigroup Global Markets Asia Limited, Standard Securities Asia Limited and Taifook Securities Company Limited as their LPs.
In late 2005, Ng recruited a number of persons to take part in a scheme to push derivative warrants issued by the four issuers at a base on the Mainland.
The court heard that between September 2005 and May 2008, Ng conspired with others to defraud those LPs as well as such companies, firms and persons as might be induced to trade in those derivative warrants.
Ng dishonestly caused employees based in Hong Kong of the four issuers to render favourable prices to be quoted to people connected with Ng for those derivative warrants, and created a false or misleading appearance of active trading.
They subsequently offered secret profits to those employees as rewards for taking part in the fraudulent trading of those derivative warrants. The illegal profits generated from the scam amounted to about $150 million, the court was told.
In April 2010, Ng was found guilty at the District Court of four counts of conspiracy to defraud in the fraudulent trading of derivative warrants.
Ng subsequently lodged an appeal with the Court of Appeal (CA). In November 2013, the CA quashed his conviction and ordered a re-trial in respect of four counts of conspiracy to defraud against Ng.
He was convicted at the District Court of all four charges on January 9, 2015 after the re-trial, and sentenced to four and a half years’ imprisonment on January 30, 2015.
The prosecution was represented by Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Denise Chan last Friday, assisted by ICAC officers Sudhir Gidwani and Keith Kwok.
Raymond Ng Chun-to, 50, was found guilty at the District Court of four counts of conspiracy to defraud, contrary to Common Law, on January 9, 2015 after a re-trial, and subsequently sentenced to four and a half years’ imprisonment.
On the day of conviction of Ng, the prosecutor applied to the court for an order to confiscate the restrained assets of Ng under Section 8 of the Organised and Serious Crimes Ordinance.
Pursuant to the application, Judge Frankie Yiu Fun-che granted the order against Ng last Friday (May 4) for the confiscation of his realisable assets amounting to $111 million.
The judge ordered that Ng be required to serve an additional term of nine years’ imprisonment should he be in default of the confiscation order.
The case arose from a corruption complaint. Subsequent ICAC enquiries revealed the above offences.
The court heard that at the material time, Calyon Financial Products (Guernsey) Limited, Citigroup Global Markets Holdings Incorporation, Standard Bank PLC and Dresdner Bank AG were derivative warrants issuers in Hong Kong.
Respectively, the four issuers appointed CLSA Limited, Citigroup Global Markets Asia Limited, Standard Securities Asia Limited and Taifook Securities Company Limited as their LPs.
In late 2005, Ng recruited a number of persons to take part in a scheme to push derivative warrants issued by the four issuers at a base on the Mainland.
The court heard that between September 2005 and May 2008, Ng conspired with others to defraud those LPs as well as such companies, firms and persons as might be induced to trade in those derivative warrants.
Ng dishonestly caused employees based in Hong Kong of the four issuers to render favourable prices to be quoted to people connected with Ng for those derivative warrants, and created a false or misleading appearance of active trading.
They subsequently offered secret profits to those employees as rewards for taking part in the fraudulent trading of those derivative warrants. The illegal profits generated from the scam amounted to about $150 million, the court was told.
In April 2010, Ng was found guilty at the District Court of four counts of conspiracy to defraud in the fraudulent trading of derivative warrants.
Ng subsequently lodged an appeal with the Court of Appeal (CA). In November 2013, the CA quashed his conviction and ordered a re-trial in respect of four counts of conspiracy to defraud against Ng.
He was convicted at the District Court of all four charges on January 9, 2015 after the re-trial, and sentenced to four and a half years’ imprisonment on January 30, 2015.
The prosecution was represented by Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Denise Chan last Friday, assisted by ICAC officers Sudhir Gidwani and Keith Kwok.