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China’s CSRC Targets Tiger Brokers, Futu and Longbridge Over Illegal Securities Business

China’s CSRC Targets Tiger Brokers, Futu and Longbridge Over Illegal Securities Business

According to the CSRC, a two-year rectification campaign targets illegal cross-border securities, futures and fund activity, while Futu disclosed proposed fines of 1.85 billion yuan and Tiger Brokers Hong Kong stressed its separate regulation.

Fact Check
All core elements of the claim are directly confirmed by multiple fetched sources published on 2026-05-22. The odaily.news newsflash (483338) and panewslab article (019e4ecd) confirm CSRC targeted Tiger Brokers (TigerBrokers NZ Limited), Futu (Futu Securities International Hong Kong), and Longbridge (Longbridge Securities Hong Kong) with administrative penalty pre-notifications for illegal securities business. The odaily newsflash (483346) and panewslab article (019e4edf) confirm the two-year plan by CSRC and seven other agencies (eight total, matching '八部门') to eliminate illegal cross-border securities, futures, and fund operations involving offshore institutions, intermediaries, and online solicitation channels. The minor uncertainty (0.05) reflects that the CSRC official website (csrc.gov.cn) was not directly accessed for the primary announcement text, and the sources are news aggregators rather than the CSRC's own press release, though the content is highly specific and consistent across multiple independent outlets.
Summary

China’s Securities Regulatory Commission and eight other government departments launched a two-year rectification campaign targeting illegal cross-border securities, futures and fund business, increasing pressure on platforms including Futu Securities, Tiger Brokers and Longbridge Securities. According to the CSRC, affected platforms must stop new fund inflows and buy transactions, leaving investors limited to one-way sell trades and withdrawals, as regulators allege these firms facilitated account openings, trade execution, margin trading, and other regulated business for mainland Chinese investors without required domestic licenses. Futu said the CSRC issued an investigation notice proposing fines totaling 1.85 billion yuan, or about $271 million, and a proposed personal fine of 1.25 million yuan for CEO Li Hua over alleged unlicensed securities, public fund sales, and futures business in mainland China. Tiger Brokers Hong Kong said the CSRC notice does not directly apply to its separately regulated Hong Kong entity. The enforcement drive triggered sharp market reactions, with pre-market shares of Tiger Brokers and Futu reportedly falling 30% to 40% on major U.S. exchanges.

Terms & Concepts
  • Cross-border securities trading: Investment or brokerage activity involving securities across different jurisdictions, typically subject to separate capital, licensing and compliance rules.
  • Public fund sales: The distribution of investment funds to the public, usually a regulated activity that requires approval or licensing from financial authorities.
  • Rectification plan: A regulatory cleanup program that requires firms to correct non-compliant business practices within a defined period under official supervision.