On Kremlin ally's superyacht, Hong Kong chief says he ‘laughs off’ US sanctions | World Information
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Hong Kong's chief laughed off US sanctions towards him Tuesday as he defended his authorities's determination to not act towards a superyacht reportedly owned by a Kremlin ally.
The Nord -- a $500 million luxurious vessel linked to Russian billionaire Alexei Mordashov -- arrived within the Chinese language territory's waters final week.
Mordashov is among the many oligarchs near Russian President Vladimir Putin who've been focused by Western sanctions following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
On Saturday the US warned Hong Kong may injury its enterprise hub status after the town mentioned it might not implement sanctions on the superyacht.
Hong Kong chief government John Lee himself is one among a number of Chinese language officers sanctioned by the US in 2020 for his or her roles in cracking down on political freedoms within the metropolis.
Banks and different firms threat dropping entry to the US-dominated world markets in the event that they do enterprise with sanctioned officers, with Lee's predecessor revealing she needed to take most of her wage in money in consequence.
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When requested in regards to the influence of US sanctions towards him on Tuesday, Lee informed reporters: "It's a very barbaric act and I'm not going to touch upon the impact of such barbaric act."
"We'll simply chuckle off the so-called sanctions."
Some sanctioned oligarchs have had their luxurious yachts seized in locations reminiscent of Spain and Fiji, however Hong Kong mentioned Friday that whereas it implements UN sanctions, it can not implement these imposed "unilaterally" by international locations or blocs.
Lee repeated that argument on Tuesday, describing US and European sanctions as having "no authorized foundation".
"We'll adjust to any UN decision on sanctions as a result of Hong Kong has the authorized foundation to implement it," he mentioned.
However he added: "We can not and won't do something that has no authorized foundation".
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