Caixin reported that a third defendant has emerged in the insider trading case tied to U.S. stock options on Futu Holdings and UP Fintech, the parent company of Tiger Brokers.
According to a declaration submitted to a U.S. court on July 23, the third defendant is Yang Jingyao, whose Chinese name is also given as Yang Jingyao. He said he has been a Hong Kong resident since 2020. In the filing, Yang stated that "my personal assets far exceed my personal liabilities" and that "I do not have any overdue debts."
HKEX filings point to a same-named shareholder of Glory Sun International
Public documents from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange show that the single largest shareholder of Hong Kong-listed Glory Sun International, as well as the offeror in an earlier mandatory general offer, is also named Yang Jingyao.
HKEX filings describe that Yang Jingyao of Glory Sun International as 32 years old, with a mother identified as a wealthy person from mainland China. He is described as a businessman and private investor who has long invested in listed securities, information technology companies, startups and other financial assets through brokers and through wholly owned private investment companies established in Hong Kong and the British Virgin Islands.
Caixin said there is currently no public evidence that the securities accounts or funds covered by the U.S. court restraining order are related to the failed offer involving Glory Sun International.
What the case alleges
The report said two defendants had already surfaced earlier in the case, one an individual and the other an investment institution. The newly identified third defendant came into view while seeking to unfreeze assets.
On July 2, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating insider trading allegations brought by Susquehanna International Group. In a lawsuit filed with the Manhattan federal court on June 29, Susquehanna alleged that before Chinese regulators moved against cross-border brokerages including Futu and Tiger Brokers on May 22, unknown insiders had bought put options on Chinese broker stocks and turned about $12 million in cost into at least $100 million in profit.