Left bankless by sanctions, Hong Kong leader has ‘piles of cash’

Hong Kong’s chief govt Carrie Lam says that she has “piles of cash” at house as a result of she is denied primary banking companies attributable to US sanctions.

In a tv interview, Lam mentioned the Hong Kong authorities has to pay her in money as a result of she doesn’t have a checking account following sanctions imposed by the US on her and different officers for what it referred to as their function in undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy from mainland China, together with imposing a nationwide safety legislation on town on the finish of June.

“Sitting in front of you is a chief executive of the Hong Kong SAR (special administrative region) who has no banking services made available to her,” Lam advised Hong Kong International Business Channel. “I’m using cash every day, for all the things. I have piles of cash at home because the government is paying me cash for my salary because I don’t have a bank account.”

US President Donald Trump imposed the sanctions in August on Chinese and Hong Kong officers together with Lam; Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of China’s State Council; and Chris Tang, commissioner of town’s police. Among different issues, the sanctions imply any banks that do enterprise with them threat penalties that may threaten their entry to the US monetary system.

In October, the State Department despatched the same listing to Congress naming 10 officers together with Lam. US. since then has began a 60-day countdown to establish banks which have enterprise with these folks, placing lenders prone to being sanctioned.

Even China’s largest state-run banks working in Hong Kong have needed to comply to protect their entry to essential greenback funding. Major lenders with operations within the US together with Bank of China Ltd., China Construction Bank Corp., and China Merchants Bank Co. have turned cautious on opening new accounts for the sanctioned officers, together with Lam, Bloomberg News reported in August.

Lam, who earns about HK$5.2 million ($672,000) within the yr of 2020, mentioned she solely withdraws a part of her wage, with the remaining stored within the treasury and she’s going to take again her unpaid wage “at a point in time,” in feedback to the South China Morning Post.

“It’s very honorable in this set of circumstances to be so unjustifiably sanctioned by the U.S. government. It’s an honor,” Lam mentioned. She has repeatedly blasted the US sanctions as unjustified interference in Hong Kong’s inner affairs.

The new nationwide safety legislation, which criminalized subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with overseas forces, has enabled authorities to clamp down on Hong Kong’s political opposition, arresting pro-democracy activists and banning lawmakers from operating in legislative elections.