Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission Enforcement Actions in Japan

証券取引等監視委員会は、内閣総理大臣及び金融庁長官に対して、金融庁設置法第20条第１項の規定に基づき、行政処分を行うよう勧告した。

当社では、経営管理態勢及び内部管理態勢が機能しておらず、髙橋代表を含めた管理役職員が、金商法等に基づく検証や確認を怠っていたことに起因して、例えば、顧客との契約締結時に提供すべき情報として、営業所の情報を提供していないなど、多数の法令等違反行為が看過されている状況も認められた。

証券取引等監視委員会は、内閣総理大臣及び金融庁長官に対して、金融庁設置法第20条第１項の規定に基づき、行政処分を行うよう勧告した。

当社の投資勧誘の適切性の確保のための取組みについて実効性ある管理態勢を構築していない結果、CPS社の内部管理責任者を兼務する当社の鮫島寛行代表取締役社長は、当社の投資勧誘の適切性の確保のための取組みについて実効性ある管理態勢を構築していない結果、CPS社の内部管理責任者を兼務する当社の鮫島寛行代表取締役社長は、当社の投資勧誘の適切性の確保のための取組みについて実効性ある管理態勢を構築していない結果、長年にわたり法令違反行為等が繰り返されてきた。

当社における投資助言者である甲助言者は、令和６年６月から同７年９月までの間に自己名義の証券口座を利用し、自己の計算において行った取引のうち、投資助言を行ったデイトレ銘柄の29銘柄について、顧客への助言前に同銘柄を買い付け、自身が保有している銘柄であることを顧客に隠して買いを助言し、助言後に売り付ける取引を31件行っていた事実が認められた。

証券取引等監視委員会は、内閣総理大臣及び金融庁長官に対して、金融庁設置法第20条第１項の規定に基づき、行政処分を行うよう勧告した。

The Kanto Financial Bureau conducted an inspection of Buddy Capital Co., Ltd. (Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Corporate Number 6011001137238, CEO Kei Suzuki, Capital 3 million yen, 38 full-time employees, Investment Advisory and Agency Business). As a result, issues related to this financial instruments business operator were identified. On this day, the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission advised the Prime Minister and the Commissioner of the Financial Services Agency to take administrative action pursuant to Article 20, Paragraph 1 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.

The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission advised the Prime Minister and the Commissioner of the Financial Services Agency to take administrative action based on Article 20, Paragraph 1 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.

The Kanto Financial Bureau conducted an inspection of Daiichi Premier Securities Co., Ltd., and found issues related to the financial instruments business operator. On the same day, the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission recommended that the Prime Minister and the Financial Services Agency Commissioner take administrative action pursuant to Article 20, Paragraph 1 of the FSA Establishment Act.

The company sets the price for acquiring real estate owned by related parties such as parent companies based on the appraisal value of the property, as stipulated in Article 201, Paragraph 1 of the Act on Investment Trusts and Investment Corporations, with the appraisal value serving as the upper limit for the acquisition amount. When obtaining the appraisal, the company selects a real estate appraiser through an internal approval process based on objective criteria such as industry track record in real estate securitization to ensure neutrality and objectivity, and then provides the property information to the appraiser to obtain an appraisal report.

The Kanto Financial Bureau conducted an inspection of G&D Advisors Inc., a financial instruments business operator, and found issues related to the conduct of the business. On the same day, the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission recommended that the Prime Minister and the Financial Services Agency Commissioner take administrative action pursuant to Article 20, Paragraph 1 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.

The Kanto Financial Bureau conducted an inspection of Tachibana Securities Co., Ltd. (Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Corporate Number 7010001049582, President Chiharu Hirose, capital 6.6957 billion yen, 443 full-time employees, First and Second Type Financial Instruments Business). As a result, issues related to this financial instruments business operator were identified. On this day, the Financial Services Agency's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission advised the Prime Minister and the FSA Commissioner to take administrative action pursuant to Article 20, Paragraph 1 of the FSA Establishment Act.

An investigation into the solicitation of our investment advisory contract concluded that violations of laws were identified.

The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission recommended administrative sanctions against the relevant financial instruments business operator due to identified issues.

The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission recommended administrative sanctions after identifying issues related to the financial instruments business operator.

The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission recognized issues related to the registered financial institution and, today, recommended to the Prime Minister and the Commissioner of the Financial Services Agency that administrative sanctions be imposed pursuant to Article 20, Paragraph 1 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.

The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission advised the Prime Minister and the Commissioner of the Financial Services Agency to take administrative action under Article 20, Paragraph 1 of the Financial Services Agency Establishment Act.

Issues related to investor protection in financial product brokerage business.

Our company could not verify the actual business activities of the corporation in question, nor was there any evidence submitted indicating that we provided consulting services commensurate with the fees paid by the corporation. It was observed that Representative Inoue transferred funds from a personal bank account in his own name to a bank account in the corporation's name, then transferred the funds to our company's bank account. As a result, at least approximately 19 million yen transferred by Representative Inoue, which was claimed to be revenue from consulting services obtained from the corporation, was found to be funds contributed from his personal account, and only made to appear as revenue from consulting services. Our company is deemed to have recorded fictitious revenue (sales) related to such consulting services.

The Kanto Financial Bureau conducted an inspection of Asunaro Corporation and found issues related to its financial instruments business. The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission recommended administrative sanctions to the Prime Minister and the Financial Services Agency Commissioner based on Article 20, Paragraph 1 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.

The company conducted stress tests using falsified data despite the deterioration of test results, and did not report based on accurate data. Additionally, the company did not take necessary measures based on the stress test results.

The Kanto Financial Bureau conducted an inspection of AMI Corporation (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Corporate Number 7010001011914, President Kazuhiko Sugawara, capital 32 million yen, one full-time employee, engaged in investment advisory and agency services, hereinafter referred to as 'the Company'). As a result, issues related to the financial instruments business operator were identified. On this day, the Financial Services Agency's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission recommended to the Prime Minister and the Commissioner of the Financial Services Agency, pursuant to Article 20, Paragraph 1 of the FSA Establishment Act, that administrative sanctions be imposed.

The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission inspected Shinsei Investment Management Co., Ltd. (Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Corporate Number 1010001076871; President and CEO Harai Haruko; Capital 495 million yen; 27 full-time employees; engaged in investment management, investment advisory and agency services, and second-class financial instruments business). As a result, issues related to this financial instruments business operator were identified. Today, the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission advised the Prime Minister and the Commissioner of the Financial Services Agency to take administrative action pursuant to Article 20, Paragraph 1 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.

The Financial Services Agency's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission advised SBI Securities Co., Ltd. to take administrative action for accepting purchase orders related to listed financial products while knowing that such actions could artificially influence the market prices of those products, causing the prices to not reflect actual market conditions.

The Kanto Financial Bureau conducted an inspection of Stock Japan Co., Ltd. (Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Corporate Number 8010401120108, CEO Tetsuro Kawabata, capital 10 million yen, 19 full-time employees, investment advisory and agency business). As a result, issues related to the financial instruments business operator were identified. On the same day, the Financial Services Agency's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission advised the Prime Minister and the Commissioner of the Financial Services Agency to take administrative action pursuant to Article 20, Paragraph 1 of the FSA Establishment Act.

The Kanto Financial Bureau conducted an inspection of Miki Securities Co., Ltd. (Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Corporate Number 6010001058023, President and CEO Takashi Suzuki, Capital 500 million yen, 164 full-time employees, Type 1 Financial Instruments Business). As a result, issues related to this financial instruments business operator were identified. On this day, the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission advised the Prime Minister and the Financial Services Agency Commissioner to take administrative action pursuant to Article 20, Paragraph 1 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.

Issues related to investor protection in the financial product brokerage business.

The Kanto Financial Bureau conducted an inspection of Union Securities Advisors Co., Ltd. (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Corporate Number 3011201019668, President Kenjiro Sugiyama, Capital 9.8 million yen, 49 full-time staff and external agents, Financial Instruments Intermediary Business). As a result, issues related to this financial instruments intermediary business were identified. Today, the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission advised the Prime Minister and the Commissioner of the Financial Services Agency to take administrative action pursuant to Article 20, Paragraph 1 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.

The Kanto Financial Bureau conducted an inspection of Merchant Brains Investment Advisory Co., Ltd. (Minato-ku, Tokyo; Corporate Number 9010001175146; CEO Yutaro Kato; Capital 8 million yen; five full-time employees; Investment Advisory and Agency Business). As a result, issues related to this financial instruments business operator were identified. On this day, the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission advised the Prime Minister and the Financial Services Agency Commissioner to take administrative action pursuant to Article 20, Paragraph 1 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.

The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission conducted an inspection of SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Corporate Number 7010001125714, President and CEO Yuichiro Kondo, capital 10 billion yen, 9,440 full-time employees, First and Second Type Financial Instruments Business, Investment Advisory and Agency Business, Investment Management Business). As a result, issues related to this financial instruments business operator were identified. Accordingly, today the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission advised the Prime Minister and the Commissioner of the Financial Services Agency to take administrative action pursuant to Article 20, Paragraph 1 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.

When requesting real estate appraisal evaluations from a real estate appraisal company obtained through the company's parent company, Nippon Escon Co., Ltd., the company engaged in inappropriate efforts that compromised the independence of the appraisal company from the perspective of proper conflict of interest management. Additionally, the company employed an inappropriate process for selecting the real estate appraisal company.

The Financial Services Agency recommended the Prime Minister and the Director of the Financial Services Agency to take administrative action based on Article 20, Paragraph 1 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.

The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission recommended administrative sanctions against A Global Asset Management Co., Ltd. for not conducting investment management activities with the care of a good manager in their investment operations.

The Kanto Financial Bureau conducted an inspection of Create Japan Co., Ltd. (Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Corporate Number 5010001141300, capital 303 million yen, 53 full-time employees, Type 1 and Type 2 Financial Instruments Business). As a result, issues related to this financial instruments business operator were identified. On the same day, the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission advised the Prime Minister and the Financial Services Agency Commissioner to take administrative action pursuant to Article 20, Paragraph 1 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.

The company's trading system for over-the-counter foreign exchange margin trading has a design that cannot eliminate the occurrence of slippage, which is the price difference between the order execution price and the initial order price, during the period from order placement to execution in the case of market orders. The company was aware of this system specification through internal reviews conducted in 2014 regarding slippage, reports from the system department head, and shared understanding among directors and legal compliance officers. Additionally, information from customers about the occurrence of slippage has been received, including at least in 2018, when such information was shared among the representative director, directors, managers, and group leaders. In an investigation commissioned to an external research company, Company A, it was confirmed that slippage had occurred multiple times in the company's system. Despite knowing this, the company did not take measures to verify the potential for slippage in its system, relying instead on referencing Company A's report, which did not include findings of multiple slippages, and published advertisements claiming "No slippage (0%), according to Company A," which was factually inaccurate.

The Kanto Financial Bureau conducted an inspection of Progress Mind Corporation (Hachioji City, Tokyo, Corporate Number 5010001130088, CEO A, Capital 3 million yen, 3 full-time employees, investment advisory and agency business). Based on the findings, the Financial Services Agency's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission recommended administrative sanctions to the Prime Minister and the Commissioner of the Financial Services Agency pursuant to Article 20, Paragraph 1 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.

The Kanto Financial Bureau conducted an inspection of IGM Financial Group Inc. (Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Corporate Number 7011101043839, CEO A, Capital 20 million yen, three full-time officers, engaged in investment advisory and agency services). As a result, issues related to this financial instruments business operator were identified. On this day, the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission advised the Prime Minister and the Financial Services Agency Commissioner to take administrative action pursuant to Article 20, Paragraph 1 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.

The Kanto Financial Bureau conducted an inspection of Buddy Capital Inc., located in Shibuya, Tokyo, with corporate number 6011001137238, represented by Kei Suzuki, with capital of 3 million yen, 38 full-time employees, engaged in investment advisory and agency services. As a result, issues related to this financial instruments business operator were identified. On this day, the Financial Services Agency's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission advised the Prime Minister and the Commissioner of the Financial Services Agency to take administrative action pursuant to Article 20, Paragraph 1 of the FSA Establishment Act.