Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission has banned Roger John and Hamish Cruden, former directors and responsible officers of Salisbury Securities, from re-entering the industry for life for misuse of client money.

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission has banned Roger John and Hamish Cruden, former directors and responsible officers of Salisbury Securities, from re-entering the industry for life for misuse of client money.

Salisbury misused or misapplied securities and sale proceeds belonging to other clients to settle another client’s instructions and to discharge its own operational expenses. It also failed to maintain the required minimum level of liquid capital from April 2012 to February 2013 and provided false and misleading information to the SFC about the level of its liquid capital in financial returns submitted to the SFC.

The probe found that John was directly responsible for Salisbury’s misconduct in that he authorised use of securities and monies belonging to other clients for the settlement of another client’s instructions and for the discharge of Salisbury’s operational expenses and his own personal expenses.

John also masterminded the window dressing activities of Salisbury’s liquid capital and the submission of false and misleading financial returns to the SFC, the organisation said in a statement.

The SFC also found that Cruden, who moved to Manila in 2011 but remained as a director and responsible officer of Salisbury, nevertheless failed to keep himself informed as to the business of Salisbury and did not visit Salisbury’s office despite making regular trips back to Hong Kong. As part of Salisbury’s senior management, Cruden’s failure to participate at all in the management of Salisbury contributed to the breaches and failures of the company for which he must be equally responsible, the SFC said.

The disciplinary actions against John and Cruden follow swift action by the SFC in June 2013 to obtain a winding up order from the court and to close down Salisbury’s business after the issuance of an urgent restriction notice in March 2013.