The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has frozen assets of up to HK$125.247m in a client account at Futu Securities International (Hong Kong) Limited as part of an ongoing investigation into suspected manipulation of shares in an initial public offering (IPO), while confirming the brokerage itself is not under investigation.
The restriction notice, issued under Sections 204 and 205 of Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Ordinance, applies to assets held by a specific client entity that the regulator suspects was involved in a fraudulent scheme to create a false or misleading impression of demand for IPO shares.
The SFC stressed that the action is limited to one customer account and does not affect Futu’s wider operations or any other clients’ accounts. No enforcement action has been announced against Futu, and the watchdog has not indicated when its investigation might be completed.
Assets frozen and movement blocked
Under the terms of the notice, Futu has been ordered not to dispose of, transfer, process or otherwise deal with the assets in the affected account, which are capped at HK$125,247,000, unless it first secures written consent from the SFC.
The regulator has also directed the brokerage to alert it immediately if it receives any instruction relating to the restricted assets. Futu is further prohibited from assisting, encouraging or causing any other party to transact in the frozen assets without prior written approval from the SFC.
Explaining its move, the SFC said issuing the restriction notice was “desirable in the interests of investors and the public”. The investigation into the suspected scheme to inflate apparent IPO demand remains in progress.
While confirming that the account in question is maintained at Futu Securities International (Hong Kong) Limited, the SFC reiterated that Futu itself is not the subject of the probe and that the order is not expected to disrupt the firm’s day‐to‐day business.
Scope of the investigation
The SFC has disclosed the value of the frozen assets and the general nature of the suspected misconduct, but has not named the client involved or given further details of the alleged activity.
The latest intervention is narrowly focused on the conduct of a single client entity rather than on Futu’s licensed activities. According to the regulator, the restriction notice will remain in force to prevent the assets from being moved or otherwise dealt with without regulatory approval while investigators continue to examine the suspected attempt to fabricate IPO demand.
Futu’s licensed activities and crypto expansion
Futu is licensed under Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Ordinance to conduct a broad range of regulated activities, including dealing in securities and futures contracts, leveraged foreign exchange trading, advising on securities and futures, providing automated trading services and offering asset management services.
The freezing order comes against the backdrop of Futu’s recent push into digital assets under Hong Kong’s regulated virtual asset regime.
In June 2026, the brokerage received SFC approval to expand its Type 1 licensed activities, enabling eligible clients to obtain securities‐backed financing for virtual asset trading. The approval made Futu the first brokerage in Hong Kong to offer financing for cryptocurrency transactions secured by traditional securities.
Under that arrangement, qualified investors can use securities held in conventional margin accounts as collateral to secure credit lines for crypto trades, lifting an earlier restriction that had prevented such credit facilities from being deployed for digital asset transactions.
Earlier virtual asset rollouts
The June 2026 approval followed another crypto‐related launch in May 2025, when Futu introduced deposit services for Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether. Eligible clients were allowed to deposit those digital assets via Futu’s trading platform and trade them alongside Hong Kong, US and Japanese equities, exchange‐traded funds, options, bonds and other instruments from a single account.
At the time, Futu said the service was designed to allow users to move more seamlessly between virtual assets and traditional financial products through one trading interface. The firm had already rolled out cryptocurrency trading in 2024 after securing regulatory clearance to provide virtual asset services to both retail and professional investors.
Hong Kong authorities have continued to broaden the city’s digital asset rulebook, developing new licensing proposals for virtual asset advisory and portfolio management services in addition to existing oversight of trading platforms, custody providers and stablecoin issuers.
For now, the SFC’s immediate focus remains on the suspected IPO‐related scheme, with the restriction on the Futu client account staying in place until the regulator concludes its investigation.
