A trader in Hong Kong embezzled HKD 50 million in margin for leveraged stock trading and was arrested after reporting a loss of HKD 150 million

According to Tencent News "Frontline," a 26-year-old male employee of Hong Kong Central Wealth Management Services Limited misappropriated 50 million Hong Kong dollars as margin without authorization, using it to finance the purchase of a double long position in the Southern Eastern Ying Hynix ETF (07709.HK), resulting in a paper loss of up to 150 million Hong Kong dollars. The trader was arrested by the police on July 20 on suspicion of "theft," with the incident occurring from January 9 to July 20.

Financial analysts in Hong Kong stated that the reason the 50 million principal turned into a 150 million loss was due to the combination of margin financing and the double leverage of the long ETF. This ETF surged to a historical high of 193.65 Hong Kong dollars at the end of June, driven by the storage chip concept, but then the semiconductor sector sharply corrected, falling to 52.58 Hong Kong dollars by July 20, a decline of over 72%. The police revealed that the relevant positions had not yet been forcibly liquidated, and the final loss would still fluctuate with the stock price. The incident was discovered during a recent audit of the company, which reported it to the police. Central Wealth Management is not a licensed company by the Securities and Futures Commission, and Central Wealth Securities stated that the involved personnel are not their employees and are unrelated to the incident, but after the event, some clients exhibited risk-averse withdrawals.