In July 2026, the insider trading case involving Futu and Tiger Brokers brought by a US market maker entered judicial proceedings, and court records disclosed that the funding chain of the named defendants involved investment institutions controlled by former Hong Kong Financial Secretary Antony Leung and others.
On May 22, 2026, the securities regulator and seven other departments issued a plan to crack down on illegal cross-border securities business, and plan to impose fines totaling more than 2.2 billion yuan on Futu and Tiger; both stocks fell 30 to 40 percent before the open.
In May 2026, Li Hua, founder of Futu Securities, was fined over $270 million for "illegally facilitating cross-border investments." Futu stated that only 17% of its client assets originated from accounts in mainland China.
On May 22, 2026, eight departments including the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) jointly issued a plan announcing a two-year campaign to completely ban illegal cross-border securities and futures activities. The plan specifically named Futu Securities, Tiger Brokers, and Longbridge Securities for illegal operations, proposing to confiscate illegal gains and impose fines.
As Futu rebounded and swung intraday, attracting retail investors to buy the dip, the options monitoring system captured extreme put sweeps on Futu and Taige at 9:57 a.m.
Futu fell 13.76% in a single day, wiping out $3 billion in market value; Tiger dropped 7.2%; Barclays took the opportunity to cut its price target on Futu, sending a weakness signal, and shorts completed strategic short-position building.