Hong Kong's security chief sent letters to media tycoon Jimmy Lai and branches of HSBC and Citibank this month threatening up to seven years' jail for any dealings with the billionaire's accounts in the city, documents show.
The letters, signed by Secretary for Security John Lee, were sent to Lai after the Hong Kong authorities announced the freezing of his majority stake in publisher Next Digital and local accounts of three companies owned by him under a sweeping new national security law.
One of Lai's financial advisers said that while the amount of funds in the accounts was relatively small, they represented the Hong Kong management end of a global network of banking relationships covering his private wealth.