Hong Kong should do more to stop people using the territory as a base to set up shell companies, a senior US official has urged, amid warnings that North Korea is using the financial centre to avoid sanctions.
Sigal Mandelker, under secretary of the US Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, warned on Wednesday that Hong Kong’s rules should be tightened to minimise the number of front companies in the Chinese territory.
Following a day of meetings with Hong Kong officials, Mr Mandelker said: “Hong Kong, of course, is an international financial hub and at the same time it has company formation and registration rules that we think need to be stronger.”