Capital flows out of Hong Kong banks to Canada peaked last year, amid a sweeping national security law foisted by Beijing on the city.

A total of C$43.6 billion (US$34.8 billion) in transfers of electronic funds was recorded by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, an anti-money laundering agency that received reports on money movements above C$10,000, Reuters reported on Friday.

The record sum was an increase of 10% from 2019 and up 46% from 2016. It was also equivalent to 1.9% of Hong Kong’s total bank deposits in 2020.

The actual amount could be higher, as data from the agency captured only a fraction of total legal inflows into the Canadian economy. Transactions done with cryptocurrencies or amounts under C$10,000 were not calculated, agency spokesperson Darren Gibb said.

The Hong Kong government said that the city had posted no significant capital outflows.

A Canadian lender told a different story. Equitable Bank, speaking to Reuters, said that deposits from Hong Kong surged just after the Beijing authorities imposed the national security law on June 30 last year.

The average balances of Equitable Bank’s accounts linked to Hong Kong telephone numbers had seen a “remarkable increase,” up 30% between June 2020 and mid-March this year, compared with a 4% rise under accounts that had non-Hong Kong phone numbers, the bank said.

An agent from an immigration consultancy also said that Hong Kong residents who immigrated to Canada took with them C$1.5 million on average.

A Canadian lawyer based in Hong Kong said he had seen a five-fold increase in the number of clients seeking to move to Canada since mid-2020, bringing at least C$1 million, and as much as C$10 million.

The government in Ottawa recorded 8,121 visa applications from Hongkongers last year, a rise of 10%.

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