• A superyacht connected to a Russian tycoon who has been subject to sanctions was permitted to anchor in Hong Kong.
• Financial center will not respect restrictions with “no legal foundation.”
• The territory would abide by United Nations sanctions.

A superyacht connected to a Russian tycoon who has been subject to sanctions was permitted to anchor in Hong Kong, prompting the city’s leader to declare that the financial center will not respect restrictions with “no legal foundation.”

John Lee, the chief executive of Hong Kong, stated on Tuesday that the territory would abide by United Nations sanctions but would not take any action in response to unilateral measures.

During a typical press conference, Lee stated, “That is our system, that is our rule of law.” Anything without a legal foundation is not something we can or will undertake.

Lee made the remark after the US State Department warned that harboring the Nord, a megayacht thought to be owned by Russian tycoon Alexey Mordashov, could harm the city’s reputation as an international financial center. Lee is personally subject to US sanctions for his role in Hong Kong’s crackdown on dissent.

The US, UK, and EU have imposed sanctions on a number of wealthy Russians over their alleged ties to the Kremlin following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including billionaire steel magnate Mordashov.

In European courts, Severstal’s chairman, Mordashov, has contested the sanctions and argued he had nothing to do with “the current geopolitical tensions.” Severstal is the largest steel producer in Russia.

China and Russia each hold a veto over international sanctions because they are permanent members of the UN Security Council.

The Nord, a $500 million yacht with two helipads, a pool, and stops in the Maldives, Seychelles, and Vladivostok, has been in the semi-autonomous Chinese region since Wednesday.

Prior to the megayacht’s arrival in the city, officials in the Chinese territory declared that they would not implement any sanctions imposed by certain nations or groups.

Some expensive yachts have travelled to countries with closer links to Russia, such as Turkey, to avoid seizure, despite the fact that US and European authorities have seized more than a dozen yachts thought to be owned by Russian businessmen who have been sanctioned.

China has refrained from denouncing Russia’s conflict in Ukraine and has criticized Western-led sanctions against Moscow as an instance of “long-arm authority without a basis in international law.”

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