Compliance
Hong Kong's SFC Imposes Life Ban On Duo For Misusing Client Money
Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission has banned Roger John and Hamish Cruden, former directors and responsible officers of Salisbury Securities, from re-entering the industry for life for misuse of client money.
Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission has banned Roger
John and Hamish Cruden, former directors and responsible officers
of Salisbury Securities, from re-entering the industry for life
for misuse of client money.
Salisbury misused or misapplied securities and sale proceeds
belonging to other clients to settle another client’s
instructions and to discharge its own operational expenses. It
also failed to maintain the required minimum level of liquid
capital from April 2012 to February 2013 and provided false and
misleading information to the SFC about the level of its liquid
capital in financial returns submitted to the SFC.
The probe found that John was directly responsible for
Salisbury’s misconduct in that he authorised use of securities
and monies belonging to other clients for the settlement of
another client’s instructions and for the discharge of
Salisbury’s operational expenses and his own personal
expenses.
John also masterminded the window dressing activities of
Salisbury’s liquid capital and the submission of false and
misleading financial returns to the SFC, the organisation said in
a statement.
The SFC also found that Cruden, who moved to Manila in 2011 but
remained as a director and responsible officer of Salisbury,
nevertheless failed to keep himself informed as to the business
of Salisbury and did not visit Salisbury’s office despite making
regular trips back to Hong Kong. As part of Salisbury’s senior
management, Cruden’s failure to participate at all in the
management of Salisbury contributed to the breaches and failures
of the company for which he must be equally responsible, the SFC
said.
The disciplinary actions against John and Cruden follow swift
action by the SFC in June 2013 to obtain a winding up order from
the court and to close down Salisbury’s business after the
issuance of an urgent restriction notice in March 2013.