Futu and Tiger Insider Trading Case: Third Defendant Appears in Court

Deep Tide TechFlow message: On July 24, Caixin reported that in the highly watched insider trading case involving U.S. stock options at Futu Holdings and Tiger Brokers, two defendants had previously appeared—an individual and an investment institution. Now, another defendant has come forward in order to seek the release of frozen assets. According to a declaration submitted to a U.S. court on July 23, the third defendant to appear is Yang Jingyao, whose Chinese name is Yang Jingyao, and who has been a Hong Kong resident since 2020. Yang Jingyao said, “My personal assets are far greater than my personal liabilities,” and “I have no overdue debts to repay.” According to public filings from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Rongzun International, a Hong Kong-listed company, has a single largest shareholder and the offeror for a previously compulsory general offer—both also named “Yang Jingyao.”

HKEX filings show that Yang Jingyao of Rongzun International is 32 years old, and his mother is a wealthy person from mainland China. Yang Jingyao is described as a businessman and a private investor who has long invested in listed securities, information technology companies, start-ups, and other financial assets through brokers and wholly owned private investment companies established in Hong Kong and the British Virgin Islands. However, at present, there is no publicly available evidence showing that the securities accounts or funds covered by the U.S. court restraining order are related to the failure of the Rongzun International offer.