Up Fintech's Stock Shrugs Off Short Seller Allegations

Up Fintech Holding Ltd TIGR shares jumped 6% on Wednesday as the market seemingly isn’t buying a new report out from short seller GeoInvesting alleging Up Fintech is "operating an illegal money laundering scheme."

The Accusations

Up Fintech is a Chinese broker listed on the U.S. Nasdaq exchange, but GeoInvesting claims the company is nothing more than a scheme that allows Chinese citizens to illegally trade foreign securities.

GeoInvesting claims Up Fintech does not have the proper licensing to allow trading of foreign securities on its platform and has already been investigated by the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

GeoInvesting said it has discovered that other Chinese companies operating similar businesses have already shut down following pressure from government regulators.

“This evidence, combined with our research on the Chinese regulatory environment suggests that TIGR’s brokerage platform could be shut down any day,” GeoInvesting wrote in the report.

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Investigator’s Claims

GeoInvesting claims to have an inside look at Up Fintech’s business via an investigator in China that signed up for an account and recorded interactions with customer service.

“Our investigator was instructed to make fraudulent claims to the local bank in China about the use of funds so that RMB could be exchanged for USD and deposited into TIGR’s overseas trading account,” GeoInvesting said.

In China, it's illegal to convert RMB to USD for the purpose of investing, and the firm claims even Up’s customers could be liable for violating money laundering laws.

Benzinga has reached out to Up Fintech for comment on the report.

The stock traded higher by 5.4% to $4.28 per share at time of publication.

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