Hong Kong may have updated its sanctions against Iran, but it is not clear whether it will have the power to shut down the global sanctions-busting network that operates in the city.
More than two dozen shell companies have been established in Hong Kong since 2008 as part of a network helping Iran's national shipping line avoid restrictions aimed at shutting it out of international trade.
The Hong Kong government was non-committal yesterday on how or if the legislation to implement the latest UN resolution on Iran - gazetted on Friday, nine months after the resolution was passed - would enable it to act against the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL).
The United States, which is spearheading efforts against IRISL, said it was still studying the details.
The line, which has been internationally censured for aiding Iran's nuclear and weapons programmes, has worked to evade sanctions by masking the identity of its fleet though a web of shell firms around the world, including in Germany, Cyprus, Malta and Hong Kong.
Nineteen of the Hong Kong companies operate as nominal owners of IRISL's ships, which are registered in the city and Malta. A few also carry the mortgages for several of IRISL's ships, which are held by Iranian banks sanctioned by the US, Britain and the European Union.
