Executive summary IV

Glossary of frequently used terms and acronyms VII

Introduction 1

Part I: Legal overview 2

 Relevant global sanctions and export control framework 2
  U.S. Sanctions and export control framework 2
  E.U. Sanctions and export control framework 4
  U.N. Sanctions and export control framework 5

 Hong Kong sanctions compliance framework 6

 Overview of existing sanctions and export controls on Russia, Iran, and North Korea 7
  Current sanctions and export controls on Russia 7
  Current sanctions and export controls on Iran 8
  Current sanctions and export controls on North Korea 8

Part II: Hong Kong's role in sanctions evasion - findings and analysis 10
 Russia 10
  Russian efforts to evade sanctions - overview 10
  Hong Kong's role in Russia sanctions evasion 11
  New findings and analysis from Russian customs data 15
   Trends in 2023 common high priority items list sample data 15
   Notable cases within the December 2023 customs data 17
   Hong Kong as a hub for Russian vessels conducting illicit trade 25

 Iran 28
  Iranian efforts to evade sanctions - overview 28
  Hong Kong's role in Iranian sanctions evasion 28
  New findings and analysis from open-source databases 33
   Hong Kong Companies involved in transshipments of UAV parts to Iran 33
   Chinese/Hungarian-owned Hong Kong companies involved in illicit trade oil deals 36
   Orient source (HK) Ltd. - request to purchase light crude from Sahara Thunder 40

 North Korea 41
  North Korean efforts to evade sanctions - overview 41
  Hong Kong's role in North Korea sanctions evasion 41
  New findings and analysis from open-source data 46
   Further investigation into laundered vessel F Lonline's Hong Kong ownership 46
   The lighthouse winmore and Hong Kong government's inaction 47

Part III: Analysis and recommendations 49
 Shortcomings in current enforcement schemes 49
Policy recommendations 52