The Financial Services Agency on Thursday ordered J.P. Morgan Securities Asia Pte. to suspend part of its Tokyo operations for about two weeks for violating the Securities and Exchange Law, agency officials said.
The move follows the recommendation made earlier in the day by the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission for disciplinary action against the brokerage, which is believed to have placed substantial trade orders in a bid to manipulate the stock market.
The FSA also plans to order J.P. Morgan Securities to revamp its managerial and supervisory system, as it believes the brokerage also conducted irregular bond transactions.
Huge orders placed by J.P. Morgan Securities pushed share prices to levels unwarranted by the actual business condition, the FSA said.
The regulatory authorities slapped the company with a similar penalty in 2003 for market manipulation.