The map of enforcement

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A Swiss lawyer accustomed to cantonal prosecutors, a federal Office of the Attorney General with a defined catalogue of competences and a separate FINMA enforcement division will find Singapore's enforcement map simpler on paper and more interlocking in practice. Criminal investigation of financial crime is concentrated in the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) of the Singapore Police Force. Prosecution is the monopoly of the Attorney-General as Public Prosecutor, exercised through the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC). Regulatory enforcement sits with MAS. The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) investigates corruption. The Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office (STRO), Singapore's financial intelligence unit, is housed within CAD. Since 2015 MAS and CAD have conducted joint investigations of market misconduct. Since 2022 the Anti-Scam Command has coordinated the police response to the retail fraud that accounts for most crypto-related police reports.¹

The constitutional basis is Art. 35(8) of the Constitution, which vests in the Attorney-General the power, exercisable at his discretion, to institute, conduct or discontinue any proceedings for any offence. Private prosecution exists only for minor offences in the State Courts. A victim of a token fraud therefore has no direct route to a criminal court. He reports to the police, who decide whether to investigate, and AGC decides whether to charge. The consequence for asset recovery is that the civil route described in Chapter III is often faster and more within the victim's control.

Notes

Singapore Police Force, Commercial Affairs Department, organisational description; MAS and CAD joint investigations arrangement announced 17 March 2015; Anti-Scam Command established 22 March 2022. ↩

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of October 2026.

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Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Of Counsel, KGP Legal LLC

I am Of Counsel with KGP Legal LLC in Singapore, where I work with a global client base of successful entrepreneurs and their families, independent asset managers, commodity trading houses and other commercial clients. I am a German and Swiss attorney-at-law, also admitted as a solicitor in England & Wales and in Hong Kong. I divide my time between Zug in Switzerland, Singapore and Hong Kong. Since 2017 I have advised international clients on more than 700 crypto and digital asset projects. I also have extensive experience in cross-border litigation and arbitration in Singapore, Hong Kong and other markets in South-East Asia and Greater China.

I operate across the key financial centres in South-East Asia, the Middle East and Switzerland, with a particular focus on asset protection, international tax and estate planning, as well as trusts, company administration and other fiduciary services. My philosophy is to serve as a trusted advisor working closely with my clients and to help them achieve their commercial objectives.

All Singapore law advice is provided through KGP Legal LLC, an established and duly licensed firm of Singapore advocates and solicitors.

KGP Legal LLC is a medium-sized law firm in Singapore that is capable of providing the full range of legal services and corporate administration work. Please contact me directly at [email protected] if you need any further information.

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SingaporeIQ is edited by Dr Alexander Ressos, an international business lawyer with more than 15 years of local experience in Singapore as a permanent resident, a Singapore registered foreign lawyer and managing partner of a Singapore foreign law practice. In addition to significant experience in cross-border investments and transactions, UHNWI private client work and sanctions/export controls, Dr Ressos has extensive experience in cross-border business and in crypto and digital-asset projects in Singapore, drawn from more than 700 projects since 2017.

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