Hong Kong won’t seize a $500 million luxury yacht belonging to a Russian oligarch and will only implement sanctions against Russia imposed by the United Nations, city leader John Lee said Tuesday.
The luxury yacht Nord, believed to be owned by sanctioned Russian billionaire Alexei Mordashov, docked in Hong Kong waters last week. U.S. and European authorities have seized over a dozen yachts belonging to sanctioned Russians, sending oligarchs scrambling for safe havens.
The Nord measures 464.6 feet, has two helipads, a swimming pool and 20 cabins.
Hong Kong is a major financial center for western nations, but Beijing sets Hong Kong’s foreign policy and has declined to implement sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Lee reaffirmed his administration’s stance of not implementing sanctions imposed by the United States and the West and said he has “laughed off” U.S. sanctions placed on him and other officials in 2020 for implementing Beijing-imposed national security laws.
The U.S. State Department said in a statement that “the possible use of Hong Kong as a safe haven by individuals evading sanctions from multiple jurisdictions further calls into question the transparency of the business environment.”
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Other developments:
►Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address leaders of the Group of Seven nations – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States – during a virtual meeting Tuesday.
►The U.N. human rights office says Russian missile strikes across Ukraine on Monday were “particularly shocking” and could amount to war crimes.
►Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co. says it is pulling out of Russia and plans to sell its operations to its Russian partner.
UN considers resolution denouncing Russian ‘annexations’
The U.N. General Assembly will hold a historic vote this week on a resolution harshly denouncing Russia’s claim to have annexed four Ukraine regions. The document calls Russian-orchestrated referendums in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia illegal and “incompatible with the U.N. Charter.” The resolution, calling on Russia to withdraw its armed forces from Ukraine’s territory, requires approval by a two-thirds vote. A similar resolution in the U.N. Security Council was vetoed by Russia, which has no such power in the General Assembly.
Contributing: The Associated Press
