SFC cancels IDS Forex HK Limited’s license and bans former co-CEOs

Steffy Bogdanova
April 23, 2021 10:13 am

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has revoked IDS Forex HK Limited’s license and banned its former co-chief executive officers, Chung Wooman and Ki Bonggan, for life.

The ban follows SFC investigation prompted in June 2017 by a self-report by IDS Forex’s responsible officers at the time. These officers notified the SFC that in February 2017 IDS Forex’s sole shareholder, Kim Sunghun, was convicted and sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment in Korea in for illegal fundraising and fraud after his arrest there in September 2016.

The Hong Kong watchdog found that Kim, who was involved in the management of IDS Forex and in the position of chairman, had injected capital in the amount of $192 million into IDS Forex between 2015 and 2016.  Chung and Ki also reported directly to Kim about the company’s business operations and executed his investment decisions

Hong Kong regulator SFC

Kim’s arrest and conviction in Korea fundamentally damages his reputation and reliability. This put serious doubt over IDS Forex’s fitness and properness to be licensed.

The SFC expressed concerns about the company due to the correlation and timing of the fraudulent scheme Kim was involved in and his capital injections into the company. Furthermore, the regulator is also affected by the failure to notify the SFC within the prescribed time limit after Kim’s arrest and conviction.

The evidence the SFC has gather reveals that Chung and Ki were aware of Kim’s arrest shortly after the event but Ki did not report it to the Commission until it’s inspection in June 2017 and Chug kept silent throughout. The SFC believes that these failures to report show lack of integrity and reliability on the parts of IDS Forex and its former senior management.

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Experienced writer and journalist, working in the global online trading sector, Steffy is the Editor of LeapRate. She has previous experience as a copywriter and has been with the company since January 2020. Steffy has a British and American Studies degree from St. Kliment Ochridski University in Sofia.
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