On May 22, 2026, eight Chinese regulators jointly penalized Futu Securities, Tiger Brokers, and Long Bridge for illegally offering offshore trading to mainland investors. Total fines: over RMB 2.2 billion.
A two-year cleanup period follows. Existing accounts can only sell and withdraw — no new buys, no new deposits. After the two years, all mainland-facing services must shut down entirely.
The move didn’t come out of nowhere. Back in December 2022, regulators flagged these activities as illegal. The brokerages made cosmetic changes but kept the business running. The 2026 action is the enforcement.
The bigger shift: Interactive Brokers already requires overseas residency proof for new mainland applicants. A Chinese ID alone no longer works for opening an IBKR account. This, combined with the broker crackdown and CRS 2.0, means the old grey-channel route to offshore investing is closing.
Published: May 24, 2026. Updated: June 23, 2026. Sources: CSRC official announcement May 22, 2026.
For the full Chinese analysis with actionable comparison of alternatives (Panama QIV, Greece 5B, Cyprus Non-Dom), see the Chinese version here.
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