Hong Kong Authorities Raid Chinese Brokers Citic, Guotai

Hong Kong authorities raided the offices of Citic Securities Co.’s local unit and Guotai Junan International Holdings Ltd., according to people familiar with the matter, marking a high-profile escalation of scrutiny into the city’s financial sector.

Authorities on Tuesday raided the firms’ equity capital markets divisions and took at least one senior executive away for questioning, the people said asking not to be identified as the information is private. Guotai Junan on Thursday said one employee, who the firm immediately suspended, was detained and some documents were seized.