The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong has prohibited Mr Kao Cheng Yung, a former responsible officer (RO), manager-in-charge of overall management oversight and key business line and managing director of CSC Futures (HK) Limited (CSC), from re-entering the industry for six months from 19 April 2025 to 18 October 2025.

The disciplinary action follows the SFC’s sanctions against CSC for its failures in complying with anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) and other regulatory requirements between January 2017 and December 2018.

The SFC considers that CSC’s failures were attributable to Kao’s failure to discharge his duties as an RO and a member of the senior management of CSC during the material time.

The SFC’s investigation found that CSC, without conducting any due diligence, was not in a position to properly assess and manage the money laundering and terrorist financing and other risks associated with permitting its clients to use customer supplied systems (CSSs) in placing orders. The SFC also found that CSC failed to detect, assess and conduct proper enquiries on client deposits which were incommensurate with the clients’ declared financial profiles.

In deciding the disciplinary sanction against Kao, the SFC has taken into account that his failures and those of CSC to diligently monitor clients’ activities and put in place adequate and effective AML/CFT systems and controls are serious as they could undermine public confidence in, and damage the integrity of, the market.

The regulator also considered the need to send a strong deterrent message to the market that such failures are not acceptable.

Kao has an otherwise clean disciplinary record.