Hong Kong Bans Former CLSA Banker Allen Lam for Life

"Hong Kong Bans Former CLSA Banker Allen Lam for Life | AboutHK.Com - More Information About HK"

Bloomberg Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission banned former CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets investment banker Allen Lam from the industry for life following his conviction in July for insider trading. Lam was sentenced to six months in prison in July and fined HK$69,000 ($8,900) for tipping off former HSZ (Hong Kong) Ltd. fund manager Ryan Fong about a pending buyout of Media Partners International Holdings Inc. Fong, who bought shares, received a 12-month prison term and was fined HK$1.37 million for the 2005 offense. “Lam’s conduct violated the trust expected of him as a licensee,” the watchdog’s Executive Director of Enforcement Mark Steward said a statement today. “There is no place for licensees who misuse confidential information and enter into arrangements like this to deceive the market.” CLSA Spokeswoman Mandy Ho said the Asian brokerage arm of Credit Agricole SA “co-operated with regulators throughout this matter” and has strict internal policies and controls in place. Attempts to reach Lam on a mobile number he previously used were unsuccessful. Hong Kong’s securities watchdog has cracked down on insider trading this year, securing the Chinese city’s first jail sentences for insider trading including former Morgan Stanley banker Du Jun and former BNP Paribas Peregrine Capital Ltd. banker Ma Hon-yeung. Insider dealing now carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and fines of up to HK$10 million in Hong Kong. Before 2003, insider-trading charges were heard as civil cases at the Insider Dealing Tribunal, an agency under the city’s Financial Secretary with authority to impose fines. To contact the reporter on this story: Debra Mao in Hong Kong at dmao5@bloomberg.net This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it