Futu's "Rat Trading" Implicated Accounts Increase to 310, 8 Traders Profited Over $80 Million

July 27th: Futu Clearing, the U.S. clearing entity under Futu Securities, and TradeUP, the U.S. brokerage entity under Interactive Brokers, have provided information on more than 310 accounts suspected of engaging in options insider trading to the relevant lawsuit plaintiffs.

According to reports, the number of accounts involved was previously around 100 and has now increased to 310. Despite the larger number of accounts involved, the illegal profits are highly concentrated. Preliminary analysis shows that only 8 traders have made over $80 million in profits from the trades, accounting for nearly 60% of the plaintiffs' estimated total illegal gains of $137 million.

It is understood that these traders are alleged to have made large purchases of Futu Securities and Tiger Brokers-related short-term options before the regulatory authorities issued improvement directives to the brokers. Subsequently, the relevant accounts were frozen. Currently, not all account holders have been formally named as defendants, and participation in the relevant trades does not equate to being identified as engaging in insider trading. The case is still under further investigation and litigation.