The Market Misconduct Tribunal (MMT) today ordered the former chairman and chief executive officer of Greencool Technology Holdings Limited, Mr Gu Chujun, to disgorge $481,969,785 of profit from his market misconduct, Hong Kong SFC just announced.
This is the largest disgorgement order amount ever imposed by the MMT to date.
On 29 December 2016, the MMT found Gu, three former directors, namely Mr Zhang Xihan, Mr Hu Xiaohui, Mr Xu Wanping, and former financial controller Mr Henry Mok Wing Kai, had been involved in disclosing false or misleading information inducing transactions under the Securities and Futures Ordinance by grossly overstating Greencool’s sales, profit, trade receivables, bank deposits and the company’s net asset value for the financial years ended 31 December 2000 to 2004 by approximately RMB487 million, RMB653 million, RMB982 million, RMB1,062 million and RMB904 million respectively which represents 43 per cent to 80% of Greencool’s total net assets in these years.
The MMT also imposed:
- disqualification orders against Gu, Zhang, Hu and Xu from being or continuing to be a director or taking part in the management of a listed corporation, or any company in which a listed company directly or indirectly has a shareholding, for five years from 1 October 2017;
- a disqualification order against Mok from being a director of a listed company for three years from 1 October 2017;
- a cold shoulder order against Gu for five years, to prevent him from directly or indirectly, dealing in any securities, futures contracts or leveraged foreign exchange contracts, or any interest in these products from 1 October 2017.
- cease and desist orders against Gu, Zhang, Hu and Xu, to prohibit them from engaging in any market misconduct. Future acts of market misconduct by them will be a criminal offence.
The MMT further ordered:
- Gu, Zhang, Hu and Xu each pay $5,130,000 for the SFC’s legal and investigation costs and the costs of the MMT proceedings, while Mok was ordered to pay $1,080,000; and
- the MMT’s findings against Mok be referred to the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants for disciplinary proceedings.