Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel has called on British ministers to urgently investigate banking giant HSBC for freezing pension savings of Hong Kong exiles.
The demand follows accusations from human rights group Hong Kong Watch that the UK-headquartered lender is improperly rejecting withdrawal applications from individuals who used British settlement documents to access their money.
Patel said blocking access to life savings was wholly wrong and alleged that HSBC was acting to appease Beijing.
More than 1 billion pounds in retirement funds has been blocked after China introduced repressive national security laws in Hong Kong, sparking an exodus of residents holding British National Overseas passports to the United Kingdom.
Data shows that 978 million pounds of the total frozen funds is held in accounts managed by HSBC, which makes most of its money in Hong Kong and mainland China.
The restricted savings are held in Hong Kong's Mandatory Provident Fund, a compulsory pension scheme funded by employees and employers. Under scheme rules, workers who permanently resettle overseas can withdraw their pension early by presenting official documentation proving permission to reside abroad.
Blocked Retirement Savings
In 2021, China announced it would no longer recognise British National Overseas passports or visas as valid travel documents.
The row has reignited after a survey of British Hong Kongers by Hong Kong Watch revealed that HSBC is also rejecting withdrawal applications from people presenting Indefinite Leave to Remain status.
Indefinite Leave to Remain is issued by the UK Home Office to prove permanent settlement in Britain. Beijing's 2021 announcement forbidding the acceptance of British National Overseas documents made no mention of Indefinite Leave to Remain status.
Megan Khoo at Hong Kong Watch condemned the refusal to release the retirement funds to settled migrants.
"It is outrageous Hong Kongers who did everything right, who built new lives in Britain, gained settled status, and proved their permanent departure, are still locked out of their retirement savings," Khoo said. "This is not a technicality, but a hardship inflicted on ordinary families by an authoritarian regime's political retaliation."
Regulator Guidance and HSBC Defense
When asked by The Mail on Sunday why it was rejecting applicants using Indefinite Leave to Remain status, HSBC stated that the rules governing early withdrawal documents were a matter of law and that it had no discretion in this matter.
However, the bank declined to specify which legislation in Hong Kong or the UK applied to the situation. HSBC also did not explain how it would be aware of an applicant's previous passport or visa status if those details were not submitted as part of the application and are not recorded on Indefinite Leave to Remain documents.
The bank's response appeared to contradict guidance on the website of Hong Kong's pension regulator, which states that trustees such as HSBC are responsible for deciding which documents suffice to prove a person was permitted to reside abroad.
Patel, who served as Home Secretary when the British National Overseas visa route was established, urged direct government intervention.
"Government must urgently investigate and act to ensure banks are not blocking use of legitimate ID," Patel said. "Labour cannot allow a desire to appease Beijing to get in the way of Hong Kongers' rights."
Government Scrutiny Over Exiles
An HSBC spokesman maintained that the bank is bound by legal requirements regarding retirement payouts.
"The conditions for early withdrawal are a matter of law and are not set by the trustee company," the spokesman said. "There are significant penalties for non-compliance. Neither HSBC nor any other MPF trustee has discretion in this matter. The pension benefits of affected members remain in the system and continue to accrue, and can be withdrawn once any of the right conditions are met, including upon retirement."
Concerns over the treatment of Hong Kong exiles in the UK were also highlighted last month when Wu Chi-wai, a prominent pro-democracy campaigner, was detained by UK border agents and threatened with deportation despite travelling on a British National Overseas passport. He was allowed to stay following an outcry from activists and politicians.
