Hong Kong imported roughly 100 tonnes of Russian gold in the first seven months of 2026, worth approximately $14.5 billion. That figure doesn’t just set a record. It effectively doubles what Hong Kong bought from Russia in the entire year of 2025.
To put the trajectory in perspective: in 2021, before Western nations sanctioned Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, Hong Kong imported just 3.3 tonnes of Russian gold. Now it’s pulling in nearly 100 tonnes in half a year.
How sanctions rewired the global gold market
Before 2022, London absorbed roughly 80% of Russia’s gold exports. Then the US and UK banned Russian gold imports following the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and those paths went dark overnight.
Russia, the world’s second-largest gold producer, needed new buyers. Hong Kong and mainland China were happy to oblige. Neither jurisdiction joined Western sanctions, and China’s appetite for gold has only grown in the years since.
