Broker backtracks over privacy complaints
Authority says staff asked to sign waiver so their details could be sent to China, writes Matt Nippert
We acknowledge that there are flaws in our communications and processes . . . The waiver in July 2023, the details of which were neither disclosed to nor endorsed by global headquarters, has also been revoked.
Tiger Brokers
AQueen St broking firm facing complaints it threatened staff with dismissal if they refused to allow their personal information to be sent to China has blamed the episode on “flaws in our communication and processes” following Weekend Herald questions and the involvement of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
Tiger Brokers (NZ) is part of the Nasdaq-listed UP Fintech Group (TIGR) and offers online trading of international shares and currencies.
Founded in 2015, Tiger largely catered to Chinese New Zealanders but launched its Tiger Trade app in 2022 to target a wider market by competing with the likes of Sharesies and Hatch Invest.
In July, Tiger’s New Zealand staff, who, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings number 35, were asked to sign a Privacy Act waiver to allow their personal information to be sent to China.
Several Tiger staff claim they were told a failure to sign the waiver would result in dismissal, prompting a number of complaints to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC).
“We have received complaints about Tiger Brokers and are reviewing the matter. We are unable to make further comment on Tiger Brokers until our initial inquiries are completed,” a spokesperson for the OPC said.
“Anyone concerned about being asked by an employer to send their information to an overseas destination should make sure they have enough information about how their information will be protected before agreeing to do so.”
The waiver sought to provide information about Tiger staff remuneration to Chinese company Beijing Xiangshang Yixin Technology Co., which was said to be in effective control of UP Fintech “by way of a variable interest structure”.
Questions sent to Tiger Brokers’ Greg Boland, listed as the chief executive and managing principal of their New Zealand operation, were answered with an unattributed statement said to be from “Tiger Brokers Global Office”. In it they distanced themselves from the actions of the New Zealand office, disvowing knowledge of the privacy waiver, but said although they now understood it was “on a voluntary basis without any repercussion” — and denied it involved threats of dismissal — it was now investigating the matter.
“Tiger Brokers is committed to following New Zealand employment law, including matters relating to the Privacy Act,” the statement said.
“We acknowledge that there are flaws in our communications and processes . . . The waiver in July 2023, the details of which were neither disclosed to nor endorsed by global headquarters, has also been revoked. We are in the process of working to address and resolve the matter.”
The attention of the OPC is the latest in a string of adverse attention from international regulators for Tiger Brokers and UP Fintech, which had a market cap of US$750m ($1.26b) this week.
In June Tiger settled a longrunning probe by the Financial Market Authority into breaches of antimoney laundering regulations by paying a $900,000 penalty and admitted to poor record-keeping and a failure to conduct due diligence of clients.
The FMA said its investigations had found the breaches had seen transactions totaling $60.8m flow through New Zealand’s financial system between April 2019 and January 2020 without appropriate checks and controls.
In that case, the High Court ruling formalising the settlement noted the Financial Markets Authority ran into difficulties conducting its investigation after finding “much of Tiger’s data was hosted in China (including by third parties) and access to this data was difficult to obtain; even when Tiger gained access to its data it was so voluminous and lacked organisation”.
Tiger has also struggled with stock exchange NZX broker requirements, having had its accreditation as a market participant suspended in July 2020. Its latest attempt to regain this status was rejected by the NZX in June.
In December 2022 the China Securities Regulatory Commission pinged UP Fintech for a lack of local licensing, resulting in the barring of the company from accepting new clients in mainland China, and the removal in May of Tiger’s international share-trading platform from app stores there.
In May the Wall Street Journal reported Tiger was one of a number of financial companies operating in a “grey zone” of international regulation where the jurisdictions of clients and markets were mismatched, and with clients subject to China’s strict capital controls limiting its citizens to transferring only the equivalent of around $100,000 out of the country annually.
The China crackdown, with Tiger just one of many financial firms facing scrutiny, has come as the PRC has begun in recent years to assert more direct control of companies offering services for its citizens or in its territories, denting confidence in corporate circles as to the stability of markets and investments.