Chinese regulators launched a two-year crackdown on illegal cross-border securities business led by the China Securities Regulatory Commission and other departments beginning May 22, 2026 [1, 2, 3]. As part of enforcement, Tiger Brokers, Futu Securities, and Longbridge Securities were fined heavily for violations, with Tiger Brokers facing about 3.08 billion RMB in administrative penalties including confiscation, and Futu fined approximately 18.5 billion RMB [1, 2, 3, 4].
Starting June 12, 2026, the three brokers will suspend services allowing mainland Chinese investors to open new positions or add to existing ones. Fund transfers into mainland accounts will also be blocked, but customers can still sell holdings and withdraw funds to ensure asset safety [1, 2, 5, 3, 6, 4, 7]. Tiger Brokers’ China retail clients hold about 10% of the group's global assets as of the first quarter of 2026 [1, 3, 4]. The company said the penalties and restrictions will not materially affect its core business or long-term operations [4].
Investor accounts in mainland China will remain open and unaffected in terms of viewing holdings or selling positions. No forced account closures or liquidations will occur [1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 4]. Earlier this month, the brokers began notifying clients about the upcoming service suspensions, with Tiger Brokers announcing on June 2, Futu on June 4, and Longbridge on June 3 [1, 10, 5, 6, 11, 8, 4].
Separately, Huasheng Securities, a smaller broker not explicitly fined, announced on June 6 it will impose similar restrictions starting June 15. Huasheng will also stop new buy trades, position additions, and fund inflows for its mainland Chinese clients, while allowing selling and withdrawals [10, 11, 8, 9].
The regulatory plan aims to fully prohibit illegal cross-border securities business by foreign institutions in mainland China within two years. It permits a transition period where only sell trades and capital outflow are allowed to protect investors but restricts new buy trades and fund inflows [1, 2, 3, 8, 9]. Tiger Brokers has also obtained authorization to repurchase up to $50 million in shares over 12 months starting June 1 [4].
