Someone knew what was coming. In the weeks before China dropped the hammer on offshore brokerage firms in late May, unknown traders quietly loaded up on roughly 200,000 short-dated put options on Futu Holdings and Tiger Brokers. When the crackdown hit on May 22, those bets paid off spectacularly, turning a $12 million stake into profits exceeding $100 million.
That’s a return north of 900%. And Susquehanna International Group, which was on the other side of those trades, is not letting it slide.
A market maker fights back
Susquehanna and its affiliate Susquehanna Securities filed a federal lawsuit in Manhattan on June 29, targeting up to 100 unidentified defendants. The firm alleges these traders used material non-public information to place precisely timed bets against two Chinese fintech companies, Futu Holdings (FUTU) and Up Fintech Holdings, better known as Tiger Brokers (TIGR).
When those put options printed massive gains for the mystery traders, Susquehanna ate the corresponding losses, totaling more than $70 million.
