At least 21 Hong Kong-based companies and four people associated with them were among hundreds hit by new US sanctions aimed at cutting off Russia’s access to international materials and equipment amid Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
The US Department of Treasury and Department of State on Wednesday announced sanctions on more than 300 targets in countries including Russia, China, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as individuals and firms based in Hong Kong.
The US authorities said the move raised the stakes for financial institutions that continued to do business with Russia.
“We are increasing the risk for financial institutions dealing with Russia’s war economy and eliminating paths for evasion, and diminishing Russia’s ability to benefit from access to foreign technology, equipment, software, and IT services,” US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen said.
Washington’s move also took aim at Russia’s offshore financial system and what it said were a dozen transnational networks that supported Russia’s warfare, such as by selling Russian-origin gold and procuring microelectronics.
Among the Hong Kong residents named was Russian national Alexey Chichenev, who the US Treasury Department said managed a “large-scale microelectronics procurement network” in the city, shipping “millions of dollars’ worth of electronic integrated circuits and other high-priority technology items to Russia.”
