HSBC holds more than £2m worth of shares in a subsidiary of a Chinese paramilitary organisation that has been accused of human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims, it has been revealed.

The British bank has £2.2m of shares in Xinjiang Tianye, which is a chemicals and plastics company, for an anonymous client.

The firm's parent company is Xinjiang Tianye Group - a paramilitary and economic organisation that has helped the Chinese government monitor and detain Uyghur Muslims in the northern province of Xinjiang - which is currently under US sanctions. The Sunday Times reported that the firm is under a raft of

American sanctions, which make it illegal for US citizens to do business with the group.

Beijing has placed around 1m Uyghurs in labour camps and there have been widespread reports of forced sterilisation and the wholesale destruction of mosques.

HSBC told the Sunday Times it was holding the shares and complied with all laws.

(c) 2022 City A.M., source Newspaper