The Securities and Exchange Commission’s case against China Energy Savings Technology, its officers and others may be a template for what investors can expect from the inquiries into reverse- merger companies.

In 2006, the SEC filed civil fraud charges against China Energy, which obtained a US stock listing through a reverse merger, and four senior officers based in China allegedly engaging in a stock- manipulation scheme.

The defendants never appeared in federal court but a judge found them liable for fraud and ordered them to pay $34m in disgorgement and penalties. The SEC has not been able to collect the fines. A court froze $3.9m in assets in US accounts before it left the country, which a judge later said should be handed over as proceeds of the fraud.