U.S. Treasury meets with banks in Hong Kong on Russia sanctions

Chinese and foreign lenders are pressed to comply with latest Biden executive order

U.S. Treasury officials also met with bankers and regulators in Hong Kong last year to urge them to identify U.S. high-tech items being shipped to Russia through Hong Kong. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by AP and Reuters)

PAK YIU and ECHO WONG, Nikkei staff writers

January 18, 2024 17:47 JST

HONG KONG -- U.S. Treasury officials pressed Chinese and foreign banks in Hong Kong this week to comply with new Biden administration sanctions on Russia's military industry as part of a global effort to turn up the heat on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

Andrea Gacki, director of the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, on Wednesday presided over two meetings that included representatives from Chinese and Western financial institutions and the Hong Kong chapter of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists.