The head of Hong Kong's securities market watchdog has issued a warning to would-be white collar criminals that it will be "aggressive and creative" in its crusade against fraud.

"I think you’ll find we're much more aggressive and creative about how we use the powers available to us," Martain Wheatley, chief executive of Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission, said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

Among the approaches that the SFC has been seen to be eager to put into use as of late include the freezing of assets of those suspected of market wrongdoing, according to the newspaper report. Last year, the commission froze the assets, in the form of millions of dollars in shares, owned by Morgan Stanley banker Du Jun. This was in connection with insider trading allegations that Du had bought a large stake in a company, using privilege information he had obtained. Du has since denied wrongdoing, and the case’s verdict is expected to be announced next month.

Another approach that is of particular interest is the agency’s willingness to go after those who engage in insider trading, the newspaper said.

The SFC also recently successfully applied to have around US$214 million in the assets of Chinese electronics tycoon Huang Guangyu, who was chairman of GOME Electrical Appliances Holdings, frozen. Huang is currently involved in a share fraud case.

Mr Wheatley also added in the interview that the agency is working on a consultation paper that is expected to be released in September. It will test the waters on new laws to regulate the sale of structured financial products. This is in reaction to the criticism the SFC faced in the wake of the controversy surround the sale of the product known as "minibonds", which were created by failed investment bank Lehman Brothers. When the bank filed for bankruptcy last year, many people in Hong Kong were left out of pocket.

When asked by the WSJ how long he planned to stay at his post, Mr Wheatley replied: "All I can say is I hope I’ve made a difference to the role here so far, and it’s my intention as long as I am able to do that, to do that."

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Drug maker Pfizer has pleaded guilty to a criminal charge of illegally marketing the use of its painkillers for unapproved uses, and has been fined a record US$2.3 billion.

The settlement with the US Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services called for Pfizer’s Pharmacia & Upjohn unit to plead guilty to a charge of illegally marketing the painkiller Bextra, for which it will be pay US$1.3 billion.

Pfizer will also pay an additional US$1 billion to settle complaints by informants that it illegally promoted the painkiller, along with the anti-psychotic drug Geodon, antibiotic Zyvox, and epilepsy drug Lyrica.

The combined US$2.3 billion fine is the largest ever paid out by a pharmaceutical firm to settle accusations of market wrongdoing.

In the US, doctors can prescribe whatever drugs that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat their patients. However, drug makers are not allowed to market their products for uses other than what it is specifically approved for.

The settlement agreement noted that Pfizer encouraged doctors to prescribe Bextra for so-called off-label uses. Pfizer allegedly treated doctors to meals, paid them to make speaking engagements, and subsidised their travel. This was a bid to encourage them to prescribe these four drugs, and five other unnamed medications, for off-label use.

Pfizer will also be required to sign a corporate integrity agreement, under which it will have to create mechanism for doctors to report questionable conduct by its sales representatives. This is the third time the company has been required in a settlement to sign such a document. It was previously required to do so in 2002 over Lipitor, and again in 2004 over the epilepsy drug Neurontin.

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