HSBC chief faces UK parliament over freezing Hong Kong pro-democracy figures’ accounts

蘋果日報 2021/01/25 06:37


HSBC chief executive Noel Quinn will testify before the U.K. parliament over the bank’s decision to freeze the accounts of former Hong Kong legislator Ted Hui and other pro-democracy figures.
The parliamentary foreign affairs committee asked Hui to give details of the incidents for a hearing on Tuesday, the former Democratic Party member said via Facebook.
The committee also called Quinn and HSBC chief compliance officer Colin Bell to give oral evidence and answer lawmakers’ questions.
Tom Tugendhat, the committee’s chairperson, earlier said that Quinn was trying to deny responsibility in his latest explanations regarding the incidents.
Quinn wrote in a letter to Hui earlier this month that the bank had no choice but to freeze his accounts following a Hong Kong police instruction. He said HSBC staff members had previously been wrong in saying the freezing of accounts was a commercial decision.
Hui announced his self-exile on Dec. 3 after he and his family left Hong Kong. Shortly after his departure, the HSBC bank accounts and credit cards held by him and his family were frozen. A Hong Kong church that enlisted volunteers to mediate between protesters and police during the 2019 demonstrations also had its HSBC accounts frozen last December.
Another exiled former Hong Kong legislator, Nathan Law, believed the inquiry would have an impact on whether Britain would take action, such as imposing sanctions, against private companies over rights infringements.
The freezing of Hui’s accounts also showed that HSBC’s ability to protect customers’ assets was questionable, Law said.
The Foreign Affairs Committee meeting will start on Jan. 26. at 2.30 p.m. in London, or 10.30 p.m. Hong Kong time.
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