Among other things, the SFC won its first convictions and jail sentences for insider dealing and the first director disqualifications for listed company misconduct.
[5] He also made waves with the SFC case against Richard Li's attempt to buy out public shareholders in PCCW and take the company private again, describing the shareholder vote on the issue as marked by "malpractice and manipulation of voting"; the SFC won a case blocking the buyout on appeal.
[4][6] Wheatley's handling of the Lehman Brothers minibond scandal led to protests by investors who did not receive compensation for their losses.
[4] Following Lehman's collapse in September 2008, the SFC secured more than HK$6.5bn (US$835m) in investor compensation from 20 banks and brokers seeking to settle allegations of mis-selling of Lehman-related structured products.
[5] Nevertheless, Wheatley was quoted as stating, "I had people marching on the streets with banners with photos of me on them saying go home, death of justice, disgrace.
In a separate announcement made by HM Treasury on the same day, Wheatley was also confirmed as the CEO designate of the Consumer Protection and Markets Authority (CPMA), one of the two successor regulatory bodies that will be formed from the future division of the FSA.
[9][10] About 3,000 people from the FSA, including virtually all the support functions, will go to the FCA, which will supervise markets, smaller brokers and advisers and will watch how financial institutions of all sizes treat their customers.