US lawmakers have called for a briefing from Treasury officials on ties with Hong Kong’s banking sector, saying a review is in order as the city has become a hub for money laundering and sanctions evasion.
Bipartisan leaders of the House of Representatives Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party have sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that says Hong Kong has turned into a city where many violations of US trade controls occur, including export of controlled Western technology to Russia, the creation of front companies to buy Iranian oil, trade in Russian gold, and managing “ghost ships” that do illegal trade with North Korea.
The letter, parts of which were publicly released on Monday, said that Hong Kong has shifted from being a trusted global financial centre to a critical player in the deepening authoritarian axis of China, Iran, Russia and North Korea.
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“We must now question whether longstanding US policy towards Hong Kong, particularly towards its financial and banking sector, is appropriate,” a copy of the letter seen by Reuters said.
The letter, signed by Republican John Moolenaar, who chairs the committee, and Raja Krishnamoorthi, the committee’s ranking Democrat, cited research that shows nearly 40% of goods shipped from Hong Kong to Russia in 2023 were high-priority items such as semiconductors that Russia could use to prosecute its war in Ukraine.
The US Treasury Department did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comments. Hong Kong’s trade office in New York could not be immediately reached for comment.
- Reuters with additional editing by Jim Pollard
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