Nearly 100 tonnes of Russian gold moved through Hong Kong during the first seven months of 2026.
That is roughly three times more than during the same period last year.
Since 2022, Hong Kong has purchased around $35 billion worth of Russian gold, according to the Financial Times.
Sanctions did not remove Russian gold from the global market.
They changed its route.
Some of the metal that could previously have moved through traditional Western trading centers is now finding its way through Hong Kong — and closer to the Chinese market.
That is gradually making Hong Kong an even more important hub for the physical gold trade in Asia.
And this is where the broader story begins.
The global infrastructure of the gold trade is changing.
London remains a crucial center of the global bullion market, and there is no reason to suggest that its role is disappearing. But alongside it, Asian trading hubs are becoming increasingly important as more physical metal moves toward buyers in the East.
Geopolitics is not only influencing the price of gold.
It is also influencing where physical gold actually flows, where it is stored, and who ultimately holds it.
To me, that is more important than the 100 tonnes alone.
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