The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced charges against the CEO of Future Fintech Group (Nasdaq:FTFT).
The Future Fintech Group is a financial and digital technology service provider that says it conducts asset management, brokerage, and investment banking services in Hong Kong, operates a cross-border payment business in the United Kingdom, and provides crypto trading data information services in the United Arab Emirates. The company also says it engages in supply chain trading and finance businesses in China. It also has initiated digital asset mining farm operations in the United States.
According to a statement issued by the SEC, Shanchun Huang, the CEO of Future Fintech Group allegedly manipulated the stock price of the company by buying hundreds of thousands of Future Fintech shares to artificially increase the company’s stock price shortly before and after he became CEO in March 2020.
Additionally, the SEC’s complaint claims that upon becoming CEO of Future Fintech in March 2020, Huang repeatedly failed to make required public filings with the Commission about his beneficial ownership of the shares and his stock transactions. In March 2021, after selling all of his Future FinTech stock, Huang
In March 2021, after selling all of his Future Fintech shares, Huang reportedly filed an Initial Statement of Beneficial Ownership, which failed to state that Huang owned Future Fintech stock at the time he became CEO in March 2020 until his final shares were sold in March, according to the SEC.
The SEC is seeking penalties along with permanently prohibiting Huang from serving as an officer or director of any company that has a class of securities registered under Exchange Act.