Caixin: The third defendant in the Futu and Tiger insider trading case appears; Yang Jingyao applies to have assets unfrozen

Golden Finance reported that, according to Caixin, there are fresh developments in the widely watched insider trading case involving Futu Holdings and Tiger Brokers’ U.S.-listed stock options. On July 23, the third defendant, Yang Jingyao, filed a declaration with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeking to unfreeze assets that have been frozen. He claims that his personal assets far exceed his debts and that there are no overdue obligations.

The case began after Chinese regulators announced penalties for cross-border brokerages on May 22, 2026, causing Futu and Tiger stock prices to drop by more than 30% in a single day. Between May 7 and May 21, a group of mysterious traders positioned in advance with short-term put options, accumulating profits of more than $100 million. Options market makers, Haina International and Castle Securities, subsequently filed lawsuits. On June 29, the court issued a temporary restraining order, freezing the accounts of the involved brokerages.

According to filings with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Yang Jingyao of Rongzun International is 32 years old, and his mother is a wealthy person in mainland China. Yang Jingyao is described as a businessman and private investor, who has long invested in listed securities, information technology companies, start-ups, and other financial assets through brokers, as well as through wholly owned private investment companies established in Hong Kong and the British Virgin Islands. The timing of the two parties’ transactions is highly overlapping: Rongzun International’s first disclosure of the offer on May 7 matches exactly the start date of the options position-building for the case; 10 days after the court issued the freezing order on June 29, that offer officially lapsed on July 9 due to failing to reach the threshold for the shareholding proportion. As of the time of publication, whether the two are the same person has not yet been confirmed by official sources.