Hong Kong’s securities regulator has started criminal proceedings against hedge fund management firm Segantii Capital Management, the firm’s founder and a former trader over insider dealing, the Wall Street Journal reported. The city’s Securities and Futures Commission said Thursday that it had begun proceedings against Segantii founder Simon Sadler and Daniel LaRocca, a former trader for the firm. It said no plea was taken by defendants in an appearance before a Hong Kong court, with the case subsequently adjourned to June 12.

Distressed developer CIFI Holdings Group Co. said it has reached an agreement with a key creditor group on some terms of a restructuring plan that could cut the principal on its debt by as much as 85%, a reversal from the company’s expectations of “no haircut” a year ago, Bloomberg News reported. Shanghai-based CIFI’s latest proposal involves reducing debt by around $3.3 billion to $4 billion, while asking bondholders to swap existing debt for new notes with tenors ranging from two to six years, according to a Hong Kong exchange filing dated April 29.

Hong Kong developer Lai Sun Development Co. is considering options for a planned office tower in the City of London, including a potential sale of a stake in the project, Bloomberg News reported. The group has appointed Eastdil Secured and DBS Group Holdings Ltd. to advise on finding a partner for the 100 Leadenhall Street project, according to people with knowledge of the appointments. The financial advisers are currently undertaking due diligence on the project and could seek a funding partner later in the year or in early 2025.

Hong Kong has taken a bold step to ease a real-estate slump, scrapping a series of property taxes in an effort to turn around a market that is often seen as a proxy for the city’s beleaguered economy, the Wall Street Journal reported. The government has removed longstanding property taxes that were imposed on nonpermanent residents, those buying a second home, or people reselling a property within two years after buying, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said in his annual budget speech on Wednesday.

Hong Kong's central bank issued guidance for authorized institutions interested in offering custody services for digital assets as the territory attempts to reclaim its title as a crypto hub, CoinDesk.com reported. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) guidance issued on Tuesday adds to the licensing regime introduced last year that gives crypto exchanges a pathway to operate in a regulated manner.

Cryptocurrency exchange HashKey Group said on Tuesday that it raised nearly $100 million after the completion of a Series A financing round, at a pre-money valuation exceeding $1.2 billion, Reuters reported. HashKey said that the newly raised capital will be used to strengthen its Web3 ecosystem, enhance product diversification of its licensed business in Hong Kong and support the Group's global development. Web3 is a version of the internet that operates the on blockchain technology used by crypto assets.

The co-founder of Hong Kong-registered virtual currency exchange Bitzlato, a Russian national who U.S. authorities accuse of processing about $700 million in illicit funds, is expected to enter a guilty plea in a U.S. court on Wednesday, Reuters reported. Federal court records in Brooklyn showed Anatoly Legkodymov, Bitzlato's majority owner and co-founder, was set to appear before U.S. District Judge Eric Vitaliano at 2:30 p.m. EST (1930 GMT) for a "criminal cause for pleading," which usually indicates a defendant will plead guilty. Legkodymov, who U.S.

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) will decide later this year if it should eliminate Imperial Pacific International (IPI) from its casino plans. It may not have to wait, though, as two new lawsuits in Hong Kong want the company to be deemed insolvent, Casino.org reported.

Hong Kong’s securities regulator and police force set up a task force to assist with the detection of suspicious activity at crypto exchanges, intensifying oversight of the industry after the blowup at the JPEX platform, Bloomberg News reported. The working group comprised of the city’s Securities and Futures Commission and law enforcement officials will “enhance collaboration in monitoring and investigating illegal activities related to virtual-asset trading platforms,” the financial watchdog said in a statement late Wednesday.

Hackers stole around $200 million from crypto firm Mixin early on Saturday, the company said on social media platform X on Monday, in what researchers say is the largest crypto theft so far this year, Reuters reported. Mixin, which lists its location on LinkedIn as Hong Kong, said the database of its network's cloud service provider was "attacked by hackers, resulting in the loss of some assets" and that "the funds involved are approximately US$200 million". Mixin describes itself as a network for transferring digital assets. It has one million users, according to its website.