SFC reprimands and fines Sino-Rich Securities & Futures Limited $2 million and suspends its responsible officer for failures in relation to margin lending practices

On 12 May 2025, the Securities and Futures Commission ("SFC") levied a reprimand and a $2 million fine against Sino-Rich Securities & Futures Limited (Sino-Rich) for inadequately documenting and enforcing its margin lending policy. The firm also failed to mandate written explanations for deviations from its policy.

In response to these findings, Mr. Budihardjo Wilhelm Soeharsono, a responsible officer and manager-in-charge at Sino-Rich, had his licence suspended for a period of five months and two weeks, effective from 8 May 2025 to 22 October 2025.

The SFC's investigation, conducted between 1 December 2017 and 30 September 2019, uncovered that Sino-Rich did not establish client credit limits based on objective evidence of net income or net worth and did not require written explanations for policy deviations. These transgressions were deemed to be violations of the Code of Conduct.

Budihardjo was held accountable for failing to fulfill his duties, resulting in his suspension and the imposition of a $2 million fine against Sino-Rich.

The SFC's decision to impose these sanctions was influenced by various considerations, including previous disciplinary actions against Sino-Rich and Budihardjo, the remedial actions taken by Sino-Rich, the firm's cooperation with the SFC, and its overall financial standing.