FINANCE

Japan Watchdog Seeks Penalties Against Futu’s Moomoo Unit

Published: Jun. 8, 2026 11:58 p.m. GMT+8

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Futu Holdings’ Japanese brokerage unit, Moomoo Securities Co. Ltd., has recently been named by regulators in Japan. Photo: VCG

Japan’s securities watchdog has recommended administrative penalties against Moomoo Securities Co. Ltd., the local brokerage unit of Nasdaq-listed Futu Holdings Ltd., citing compliance failures in its tax-free investment services, customer asset transfers and anti-money-laundering controls.

The move comes as Futu faces mounting regulatory pressure in the Chinese mainland, where authorities recently proposed hefty penalties against the company and rivals for illegally offering cross-border trading services.

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Japan’s SESC recommended penalties against Moomoo Securities for labeling 77 ineligible U.S. ETFs/ETNs as NISA-eligible, improper customer asset transfers, and AML failures.
The company also failed to review over 1,531 rejected applicants for suspicious transactions, violating Japan’s anti-money-laundering law.
Separately, China’s securities regulator proposed fines of about 1.85 billion yuan against Futu Holdings for illegal cross-border trading services.

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Who’s Who

Futu Holdings Ltd.: Futu Holdings Ltd. (Nasdaq-listed) faces regulatory pressure: its Japan unit Moomoo Securities received SESC recommendations for compliance failures. Chinese regulators proposed a ~1.85 billion yuan fine for illegal cross-border trading services. Futu will suspend stock-buying for existing mainland clients from June 12, 2025.

Up Fintech Holding Ltd.: Up Fintech Holding Ltd. is a company that, along with Futu Holdings and Long Bridge HK, faced proposed penalties from China's securities regulator in May 2025 for illegal cross-border securities operations. The regulators plan to confiscate illegal gains and impose fines on the firms.

Long Bridge HK Ltd.: Long Bridge HK Ltd. was named alongside Futu Holdings and Up Fintech in a May 2025 announcement by the China Securities Regulatory Commission. The regulator proposed penalties for illegal cross-border securities operations, but no specific penalty amount for Long Bridge HK Ltd. was detailed in the article.

Moomoo Securities Co. Ltd.: Moomoo Securities Co. Ltd., the Japan brokerage unit of Nasdaq-listed Futu Holdings, received a recommendation for administrative penalties from Japan's SESC for compliance failures in tax-free investment services, customer asset transfers, and anti-money-laundering controls. The company entered Japan in 2022 and launched online trading in October 2023.

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What Happened When

2022：: Moomoo Securities entered Japan through an acquisition of a local brokerage.

September 2023：: Moomoo Securities started the period of not assessing rejected account applicants for suspicious transactions, with the practice continuing until July 17, 2025.

October 2023：: Moomoo Securities began offering online trading services to individual investors in Japan.

April 2024：: Moomoo Securities began refusing client requests to transfer Japanese-listed stocks to other brokerages, according to the SESC.

September 2024：: Moomoo Securities started rejecting transfer requests for certain public mutual funds, breaching its duty to properly manage customer assets.

February 21, 2025：: Moomoo Securities began listing at least 77 ineligible U.S. ETFs and ETNs as NISA-eligible, with the practice continuing until May 27, 2025.

May 22, 2025：: China Securities Regulatory Commission announced proposed penalties against Futu Holdings and other firms for illegal cross-border securities operations.

June 4, 2025：: Futu Holdings said it would suspend stock-buying and position-opening services for existing mainland clients starting June 12, 2025.

June 5, 2025：: Japan’s SESC announced that an inspection of Moomoo Securities found multiple regulatory breaches and urged the FSA to take administrative action.

June 6, 2025：: Moomoo Securities said it accepts the regulator’s recommendations and has launched an internal investigation.

June 12, 2025：: Futu Holdings was set to suspend stock-buying and position-opening services for existing mainland clients.

July 17, 2025：: The period of Moomoo Securities not assessing rejected account applicants for suspicious transactions ended.

November 19, 2025：: Another ineligible U.S. ETF was mislabeled as NISA-eligible by Moomoo Securities, with the error continuing until January 14, 2026.