Japan's Financial Services Agency takes strong action! Moomoo Securities, a subsidiary of Futu, is accused of false advertising about NISA and ordered to cease operations for 3 months

According to Nikkei News, Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) announced yesterday (19th) that it has imposed heavy penalties on the well-known foreign online securities broker moomoo Securities, issuing a three-month partial business suspension order, completely prohibiting it from accepting new account openings. The main reason is that the broker provided false explanations when promoting products not applicable to NISA, and there are significant deficiencies in anti-money laundering and cybersecurity measures, highlighting Japan’s regulatory authorities’ strict stance on foreign securities firms.
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Japan’s financial regulators have taken strong action against compliance issues at foreign online securities firms. The Financial Services Agency (FSA) officially announced on June 19, 2026, that it has issued a “partial business suspension order” to moomoo Securities, a foreign broker headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, with a duration of three months (from June 19 to September 18).

During this suspension period, moomoo Securities will be completely prohibited from soliciting or accepting any new account openings. At the same time, the FSA also issued a “business improvement order,” requiring the company’s senior management to clarify responsibilities and promptly develop and submit concrete business improvement plans to prevent similar issues from recurring.

Crossing NISA red lines! False advertising and internal control failures

According to the FSA’s investigation report, moomoo Securities has multiple serious violations of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act in its internal management and sales practices. The most concerning violation is “false explanations”: the broker falsely claimed that financial products not applicable to NISA (the tax-free small investment scheme) were NISA-eligible, severely misleading consumers’ rights.

In addition, the FSA found that the company had long failed to verify and report suspicious transactions, revealing major loopholes in its anti-money laundering measures; simultaneously, its overall cybersecurity defenses are extremely inadequate. These issues had previously been identified and recommended for sanctions by Japan’s Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission, ultimately leading the FSA to decisively take action.

Parent company Futu Holdings faces headwinds in Japan expansion

Moomoo Securities’ parent company is Futu Holdings, a Hong Kong-based fintech giant listed on the Nasdaq in the United States. In recent years, moomoo has focused on a highly integrated mobile app as its core offering, with domestic app downloads in Japan rapidly surpassing 2 million. The company’s original growth strategy was to capture the Japanese retail investor market by offering the lowest US stock trading commissions in the industry. However, as its scale expanded quickly, its internal compliance and management systems evidently failed to keep pace.

This severe disciplinary action not only directly damages moomoo Securities’ brand image and user growth momentum in Japan but also sends a clear signal: Japanese regulators will adopt a strict “zero tolerance” approach toward foreign financial institutions that pursue rapid expansion through low prices and technology. Whether moomoo can thoroughly overhaul its internal management and regain market trust within the next three months will be a critical test for its survival in Japan.