(LEAD) Top court upholds HSBC's acquittal in short-selling case
SEOUL, Oct. 8 (Yonhap) -- The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a lower court's a...
The Supreme Court of South Korea has upheld the acquittal of HSBC's Hong Kong unit in a criminal case related to violating the country's short-selling rules. Initially indicted by prosecutors in March 2024, HSBC was accused of engaging in naked short selling of shares belonging to nine publicly traded companies worth approximately 15.8 billion won (US$11.8 million) between August and December 2021.
Prosecutors alleged that three bank employees had knowingly participated in the illegal naked short selling of these shares. However, in the first-instance trial of the Seoul Southern District Court, the employees were acquitted, with the court stating that there was insufficient evidence to prove the alleged offenses.
The employees were believed to have been unaware of the specifics of the trades since the short-sale orders were placed automatically through the bank's system. They only borrowed shares after the trades to cover any shortfalls. An appellate court had previously upheld the acquittal, and the Supreme Court has now confirmed this decision.
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