On September 17, 2026, the Eastern Magistrates' Court fixed 12 November 2026 for a pre-trial review in the SFC's criminal prosecution against Mr Oliver Chow Pak Wah over alleged noncompliance with notices issued under section 183 of the Securities and Futures Ordinance ("SFO") related to two market manipulation investigations. Chow pleaded not guilty to three charges, was apprehended via arrest warrants after missing earlier hearings, and was granted bail subject to four conditions.
This article was generated using SAMS, an AI technology by Timothy Loh LLP.
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On September 17, 2026, the Eastern Magistrates' Court fixed 12 November 2026 for a pre-trial review in criminal proceedings instituted by the Securities and Futures Commission ("SFC") against Mr Oliver Chow Pak Wah. The prosecution concerns alleged non-compliance with statutory notices issued under section 183 of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (the SFO), arising from two ongoing market manipulation investigations.
Charges Entered and Plea
At today's hearing, Chow entered a plea of not guilty to three charges. Each charge alleges that he failed, without reasonable excuse, either to produce records or documents, or to attend interviews as required by notices served upon him by the SFC on 24 July 2024, 9 August 2024 and 25 October 2024 respectively.
Circumstances of Appearance Before Court
Chow was brought before the Magistrate following his apprehension pursuant to arrest warrants issued by the court. The SFC had applied for those warrants at a hearing on 4 December 2025 after Chow failed to attend that proceeding, having also been absent from an earlier scheduled hearing on 23 October 2025.
Bail Conditions Imposed
Upon his appearance before the Court, bail was granted subject to four conditions: (i) deposit of cash bail in the sum of $15,000; (ii) prohibition from leaving Hong Kong and surrender of all travel documents; (iii) obligation to reside at a specified home address with prior notification to the Police of any change of residence; and (iv) requirement to report to a designated police station three times per week.
Statutory Basis for Investigation and Prosecution
The SFC commenced its investigations pursuant to section 182 of the SFO. The criminal prosecution was brought under sections 184(1)(a) and 184(1)(c) of the SFO, which create offences in respect of non-compliance with notices issued under section 183.
Section 183(1): Obligations Imposed by Statutory Notice
Under section 183(1) of the SFO, a person who is the subject of an investigation, or whom the investigator has reasonable cause to believe possesses any record or document containing (or likely to contain) information relevant thereto, shall be required to: (a) produce to the investigator, within such time and at such place as may reasonably be specified in writing, any record or document identified by the investigator that is, or may be, relevant; or (b) attend before the investigator at such time and place as may reasonably be specified in writing, and answer questions relating to matters under investigation.
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