Financial Services Association, September 13 (Reporter Zhao Xinrui) Not only is it an IPO; under strict supervision, listed companies have been supervised and issued multiple fines for irregularities.

On the evening of September 12, the Xiamen Securities Regulatory Bureau issued two fines, both relating to the supervisory work of Roput (Roput Technology Group Co., Ltd.) during its initial public offering and listing. They involved intermediaries Guojin Securities and Rongcheng Certified Public Accountants, respectively.

After investigation, in December 2020, Loput signed 3 supply agreements with customers for 3 projects in Duyun City, Guizhou Province and other places. In 2021, Roput and its wholly-owned subsidiary Roput Systems Integration Co., Ltd. signed 3 supply agreements with customers for 6 projects in Xiangshui County, Jiangsu Province, and the Duyun City project in Guizhou Province. Rott confirmed revenue for the above projects based on the time the shipment was accepted by the customer.

In fact, control of related products was not transferred to the customer when Roput confirmed revenue. In 2020 and 2021, Rott inflated revenue, etc., and undercut profits in 2022.

According to the official website of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Loput received approval for registration on the Science and Technology Innovation Board on January 19, 2021. It was less than a year from acceptance to the launch of the distribution. It is an enterprise mainly engaged in the manufacturing of computers, communications, and other electronic equipment.

Supervision imposes “double penalties” on institutions and responsible individuals in accordance with the law

The fines showed that Roput inflated revenue in 2020 and 2021, respectively, and undercut profits in 2022. According to Roput's 2022 annual report, the company achieved operating income of 0.617 billion yuan, 0.724 billion yuan, and 0.169 billion yuan from 2020 to 2022, respectively; net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies was 0.158 billion yuan, 88.1213 million yuan, and -0.202 billion yuan, respectively.

Rott issued a revised 2022 annual report 4 months later, with discrepancies in revenue and net profit data. According to the company's 2022 annual report (after correction), Loput achieved operating income of 0.403 billion yuan, 0.613 billion yuan, and 0.169 billion yuan from 2020 to 2022, respectively; net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies was 34.8585 million yuan, 69.9107 million yuan, and -0.14 billion yuan, respectively.

If you compare the data from the two different 2022 annual reports mentioned above, the gap in Loput's revenue echoes the statement on the ticket. Compared with the revised 2022 annual report data, the company's revenue in 2020 and 2021 increased by 34.68% and 15.33% respectively, with inflated revenue of 0.214 billion yuan and 0.111 billion yuan respectively.

In the case of Roput's violation of the above regulations, Guojin Securities, as the sponsor agency of Rott, did not act diligently and conscientiously during the continuous supervision of the company. The continuous supervision and on-site inspection work was not in place, and the relevant continuous supervision reports and special inspection opinions issued were inaccurate. However, Wang Xuelin and Ruan Renqun, as sponsor representatives responsible for ongoing supervision, bear the main responsibility for these acts.

According to relevant regulations, the Xiamen Securities Regulatory Bureau finally took regulatory measures to issue warning letters against Guojin Securities, Wang Xuelin, and Ruan Renqun. While the relevant situation is recorded in the integrity file, the company is also required to submit a written rectification report within 20 working days from the date of receipt of this decision. Furthermore, supervision indicates that the company should fully learn lessons, improve the management mechanism for continuous supervision work, fully implement the requirements of diligence and due diligence, and enhance the effectiveness of continuous supervision work.

As an intermediary agency providing services, Rongcheng Certified Public Accountants is naturally also responsible for Loput's irregularities. According to the fine, during the audit of the 2020 annual report, Rong Cheng's office violated the relevant regulations because it did not pay attention to the fact that the goods sold in the Duyun City project in Guizhou Province were actually warehouses leased by Robert. Li Jianbin, Lian Yimin, and Jiang Yingzuo, as certified public accountants who signed Robert's 2020 audit report, bear the main responsibility for these acts.

According to the above situation and related regulations, the supervisory authority finally took supervisory and administrative measures to issue warning letters against Rong Cheng Institute, Li Jianbin, Lian Yimin, and Jiang Ying, and recorded them all in the integrity file. Furthermore, Rongcheng Institute shall also submit a written rectification report within 20 working days from the date of receipt of this decision.

Roput and a number of then-executives have been punished to varying degrees

In fact, as a result of these related incidents, the company and many of its executives at the time were all punished and fined to varying degrees by the regulatory authorities in 2023.

On May 17, 2023, the company received the “Notice of Case Filing” issued by the Securities Regulatory Commission. The CSRC decided to open a case investigation against the company due to suspected illegal disclosure of information. After investigation, the company disclosed information and made false records. Therefore, on November 1, 2023, the supervision and management measures issued warning letters to each of the company's 12 then-current directors, supervisors, and senior management personnel. In addition, the following senior executives were also fined to varying degrees on the same day:

1. Order corrections, give a warning, and fine of 4 million yuan against Ropt;

2. Chen Yanxing and Jiang Wentao were warned and fined 3 million yuan each;

3. Give Chen Bizhu a warning and fine of 2 million yuan;

4. A warning was given to Yu Limei and a fine of 1.5 million yuan was imposed;

5. Zhang Xiang and Liu Yuan were warned and fined 0.5 million yuan each.

Subsequently, the Shanghai Stock Exchange further enforced and supplemented the fines issued by the above regulations. On November 7, 2023, the management department of the Science and Technology Innovation Board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange issued supervisory warnings to Huang Zhengdi, Wang Biao, Hong Yumei, and Wu Jun, then supervisors Xu Kunming, Huang Huiming, Ye Meiping, and Zhou Lu. On the same day, the Shanghai Stock Exchange Disciplinary Committee publicly condemned the company and 9 then-current executives, while 4 then-current directors issued a notice of criticism.

In an overview of the administrative enforcement situation of the Securities Regulatory Commission in the first half of 2024, the supervision mentioned that, on the one hand, “double punishment” should be imposed on institutions and responsible individuals in accordance with the law. On the other hand, “qualification penalties” are resolutely imposed on offenders who have seriously neglected their duties and responsibilities. Further emphasis is placed on compacting the responsibilities of “gatekeepers”, severely punishing illegal acts of intermediaries that are not diligent and conscientious, and helping to establish a comprehensive anti-counterfeiting and anti-counterfeiting system.