Left bankless due to sanctions, Hong Kong's Carrie Lam says she uses ‘piles of cash’

Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam says that she has "piles of cash” at home because she is denied basic banking services due to U.S. sanctions.

In a television interview, Lam said the Hong Kong government has to pay her in cash because she does not have a bank account, following sanctions imposed by the U.S. on her and other officials for what it describes as their role in undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy from mainland China, including imposing a national security law on the city at the end of June.

"Sitting in front of you is a chief executive of the Hong Kong SAR (special administrative region) who has no banking services made available to her,” Lam told Hong Kong International Business Channel. "I’m using cash every day, for all the things. I have piles of cash at home because the government is paying me cash for my salary, because I don’t have a bank account.”