UP Fintech Holding Limited (Nasdaq: TIGR), the parent company of Tiger Brokers, disclosed on May 22 via an SEC Form 6-K that multiple subsidiaries received penalty notices from the Beijing Regulatory Bureau of the China Securities Regulatory Commission on the same day. These notices found that the subsidiaries conducted unlicensed cross-border securities business as well as illegal fund and futures activities within mainland China. The Beijing Bureau imposed administrative fines totaling approximately RMB 308.1 million on these subsidiaries and confiscated around RMB 103.1 million in illegal earnings; the combined amount reached roughly RMB 411.2 million. Additionally, Wu Tianhua, director and CEO of UP Fintech, was issued a warning and fined RMB 1.25 million. In its announcement, the company stated it ‘sincerely accepts the penalties’ and pledged to fully cooperate with regulators while implementing all required corrective measures. As of end-2025, assets held by retail clients in mainland China accounted for about 10% of the company’s total client assets.
This penalty closely ties into a series of cross-border securities regulatory actions rolled out on the same day: the China Securities Regulatory Commission and seven other authorities jointly released the ‘Implementation Plan for Rectifying Illegal Cross-Border Securities, Futures, and Fund Activities’, which sets a two-year period for intensive rectification aimed at eradicating all forms of unauthorized cross-border financial operations. Meanwhile, the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong also issued a circular requiring all licensed brokers to conduct self-audits of client accounts and tighten KYC standards for mainland Chinese clients. Tiger Brokers’ case is regarded as one of the first major enforcement examples made public under this new wave of cross-border securities regulation, sending a clear message to other overseas brokerages still soliciting mainland clients in various ways.