Chairman John Moolenaar and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party have reached out to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. This follows the sentencing of 45 pro-freedom activists in Hong Kong last week, amid concerns about human rights under CCP rule and ongoing financial transactions involving Hong Kong, Russia, and North Korea. The lawmakers are requesting a briefing from Treasury Department officials on potential U.S. actions.

In their letter, they stated: “Your department has taken preliminary action against entities based in Hong Kong, where the city has now become a global leader in practices such as importing and re-exporting banned Western technology to Russia, creating front companies for purchasing barred Iranian oil, facilitating the trade of Russian sourced gold, and managing ‘ghost ships’ that engage in illegal trade with North Korea. Recent research revealed, for example, that nearly 40 percent of goods shipped from Hong Kong to Russia in 2023 were on the US and EU list of ‘common high priority items’—semiconductors and other technology that Russia most needs for its war in Ukraine.”

They further added: “Given these escalating concerns, we request that the appropriate U.S. Treasury Department official brief the Select Committee on the current status of American banking relationships with Hong Kong banks, how our policies have shifted to account for the changes in Hong Kong’s status and posture, and the measures the Treasury plans to implement to address these risks.”