How US forced Hong Kong chief executive to keep ‘piles of cash’ at home

Hong Kong’s chief executive Carrie Lam revealed that she has no bank account and is forced to keep “piles of cash” at home after sanctions imposed by the United States. In a television interview broadcast on Friday night, Lam said that the government is paying her salary in cash because she doesn’t have a bank account.

“Sitting in front of you is a chief executive of the Hong Kong SAR who has no banking service made available to her,” Lam, said to be one of the highest-paid leaders in the world with a reported annual salary of $670,000, told a local English TV channel.

Why Carrie Lam doesn’t have a bank account?

Lam is facing sanctions from the US treasury department in response to China’s national security law for Hong Kong. The department had announced sanctions on 11 individuals, including Lam and Hong Kong Police Force commissioner Chris Tang. It held Lam directly responsible for implementing Beijing’s policies of “suppression of freedom and democratic processes”.

“Lam is designated for being involved in developing, adopting, or implementing the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in...Hong Kong,” read the statement. The sanction led to the freezing of US assets of a dozen Hong Kong officials in a city, famous as Asia’s key financial hub, with numerous US-based banks operating in the region.

The Hong Kong leader said that she was “using cash every day for all the things”. “I have piles of cash at home, the government is paying me cash for my salary because I don’t have a bank account,” she added. The revelation triggered speculation on social media about how the government is managing to transport the cash to her home.