Hong Kong firm sanctioned by US in Venezuela crackdown found to use bogus address
Post finds vacant offices, shared secretaries in US-hit Hong Kong firms tied to Venezuelan oil exports, as namesake local company fears backlash
A Hong Kong-based company sanctioned by the United States for alleged links to Venezuelan oil exports registered a fictitious address in the city, the Post has found, leaving a namesake eyewear firm anxious about repercussions.
The Trump administration stepped up its pressure campaign against Venezuela’s oil exports earlier this week by sanctioning four companies based in Hong Kong and mainland China, accusing them of ties to the Venezuelan oil sector and evading restrictions.
The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said the vessels had continued to provide financial resources that fuelled the “illegitimate narco-terrorist regime” led by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
The move was made days before US forces launched a “large-scale strike” and captured Maduro and his wife, extracting them from the country on Saturday.
One of the targets, Hong Kong-based company Winky International, was sanctioned by the US’ Office of Foreign Assets Control for owning the oil tanker Rosalind, which transported Venezuelan oil.
Established in 2024, the sanctioned firm was registered in the Marshall Islands, with its address listed as the 14th floor of Guangdong Investment Tower on Connaught Road Central in Sheung Wan, according to US records. But the Post found there was no 14th floor in the building.