Securities Fraud Prosecution Hearing Fixed for Illegal Short Selling

SFC HK Enforcement News

Filed March 20th, 2026

Detected March 21st, 2026

Summary

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has fixed the first criminal prosecution hearing in the District Court against two defendants for securities fraud involving illegal short selling under section 300 of the Securities and Futures Ordinance. The case involves alleged fraudulent schemes in the shares of 28 Hong Kong-listed companies.

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What changed

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) announced that the first criminal prosecution hearing for securities fraud involving illegal short selling under section 300 of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO) has been fixed for the District Court. The case involves defendants Mr Chan Hoi Shing and Mr Li Po Ching, who allegedly engaged in fraudulent schemes through illegal short selling in the shares of 28 Hong Kong-listed companies. This marks a significant development as it is the first such case to be heard in the District Court.

Regulated entities and investors should note this precedent-setting case. The first hearing in the District Court is scheduled for April 9, 2026. The defendants were granted bail with strict conditions, including surrendering travel documents and cash bail of $280,000 each. The SFC previously issued a press release regarding this matter on November 6, 2025.

What to do next

Review SFC enforcement news for updates on this case
Ensure compliance with short selling regulations under SFO section 300

Source document (simplified)

Hearing fixed for first criminal prosecution in District Court against securities fraud involving illegal short selling under SFO

20 Mar 2026

The Eastern Magistrates’ Courts today granted an application by the Department of Justice to transfer a securities fraud case brought by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) to the District Court for criminal proceedings.

This marks the first time in which a criminal prosecution for securities fraud involving illegal short selling under section 300 of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO) will be held in the District Court.

The first hearing in the District Court will take place on 9 April 2026.

The two defendants in the case, Mr Chan Hoi Shing and Mr Li Po Ching, allegedly employed a fraudulent scheme involving illegal short selling in the shares of 28 Hong Kong-listed companies, in contravention of section 300 of the SFO (Note 1).

At today’s hearing, the Court extended bail to Chan and Li on these conditions: (i) not to leave Hong Kong; (ii) surrender all travel documents; (iii) regular reporting to the police station; (iv) cash bail of $280,000 each; and (v) reside at the reported residential address and inform the Police of any change of residential address.

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