English

Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Of Counsel, KGP Legal LLC
Rechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law (Zurich, Switzerland)
Solicitor (England & Wales)
Solicitor (Hong Kong)
Rechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law (Germany)
Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP)

My role with KGP Legal LLC

SingaporeIQ is published by Dr Alexander Ressos. Dr Ressos is Of Counsel with KGP Legal LLC. All Singapore law advice is provided through KGP Legal LLC, a duly licensed firm of Singapore advocates and solicitors (licence LSRA/LLC/2017/00023), 10 Anson Road #03-27 International Plaza, Singapore 079903. All enquiries should be directed to Dr Alexander Ressos at [email protected].

All enquiries, including those on Singapore law, therefore come to me directly, and where Singapore law advice is needed, it is provided through KGP Legal LLC. What I can do for you is to coordinate the international side of a matter and to advise on Swiss, English, Hong Kong and German law.

Cross-border business between Europe and Asia

For more than twenty years I have worked with companies, their owners and their investors on cross-border business between Europe and Asia. A group that sets up in Singapore usually has a parent, shareholders or a family somewhere else, and their law and tax have to fit the Singapore step. I work across Singapore, Hong Kong and Zurich/Zug with colleagues who are native speakers of Chinese, Russian, Ukrainian, Japanese and Korean, and I keep the threads together so that the advisers in each country move in step.

Group structures, contracts and trade

My international law practice also covers investment holding structures for Asian groups, shareholder and joint venture agreements, distribution, agency and supply contracts, offtake agreements and sales contracts on GAFTA and FOSFA terms. Trade finance forms part of the same work: documentary letters of credit under UCP 600, demand guarantees and standby letters of credit, receivables finance and the security that goes with them. I further advise on sanctions, export control and dual-use matters and anti-money laundering compliance.

Crypto and digital assets

Since 2017 I have worked on legal questions relating to crypto and digital assets: the classification of tokens, licensing, crypto funds, custody and the segregation of crypto-assets in bankruptcy, OTC transactions, and the tokenisation of shares, bonds and real assets. My clients have included exchanges, investors, funds and project teams. When things go wrong, I act against fraudulent exchanges and other fraudsters, trace misappropriated assets on the blockchain and apply for freezing orders and attachments in Switzerland and abroad. My book Digital Assets Law in Singapore and Switzerland is published on this site. It is a study and does not replace advice on your specific case.

Banking, licences and compliance

Preparing an onboarding file, clarifying whether a business needs a licence in Switzerland or Hong Kong, and setting up anti-money laundering, sanctions and export control compliance.

Tax and international tax planning

Swiss taxation of companies and individuals, double taxation treaties with China, Hong Kong and other Asian, Middle Eastern and African states, and international tax planning for groups and their owners, including the OECD minimum tax.

Owners, families and succession

Relocation of entrepreneurs and their families, trusts and foundations in Switzerland, Liechtenstein and offshore centres, family offices, and the succession planning that a Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) brings to family-owned businesses.

Admissions and qualifications

Of Counsel, KGP Legal LLC (Singapore)
Rechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law (Germany), Frankfurt am Main Bar
Rechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law (Zurich, Switzerland)
Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales (since 2004)
Solicitor of the High Court of Hong Kong
Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP), Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners
Doctorate in law, University of Cologne; doctoral thesis on life insurance law (2004)

Areas of work

Private clients, trusts and family offices
Tax and fiduciary structuring
Asset management regulation and anti-money laundering
Commodity trading, sanctions and export controls
Crypto and digital assets
Corporate, commercial and capital raising
Litigation, arbitration and mediation
Asia desk: China, Hong Kong, Indonesia

Singapore law advice is provided through KGP Legal LLC.

Associations and network

Swiss–China Business Law Network (SCBLN) – chairman since 2026.
Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) – full member, Zurich branch.
German-Swiss Lawyers’ Association (DSJV) – for more than ten years its secretary general.
German-American Lawyers’ Association (DAJV) – five years a member of the board.

Career

Rechtsanwalt and Solicitor, Clifford Chance, Frankfurt am Main
Equity partner of an international law firm, Singapore; founder of law firms in Singapore and Hong Kong
Legal counsel to the Government of Dubai
External compliance officer of a fund manager regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore
Working with KGP Legal LLC since 2017; now Of Counsel
For almost ten years director of a commodity trading house in the chemical industry based in Geneva
Rechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law in Zurich, own practice

Languages

English
German
French
Greek

Among my colleagues: native speakers of Chinese, Russian, Ukrainian, Japanese and Korean.

Publications

Monographs, edited works, articles and case notes in German and English, with English translations of German titles in square brackets.

Books on this site

Singapore as an International Financial Centre: Entrepôt, Wealth, Commodities and the Rule of Law, published here chapter by chapter as it is written.
Digital Assets Law in Singapore and Switzerland, with the law as at 30 June 2026, Singapore and comparative parts published here.

Monographs and edited works

Prospekthaftung von Lebensversicherungsunternehmen – Grundlagen und Reichweite einer Haftung für prospektartige Verbraucherinformationen bei dem Vertrieb privater Altersvorsorgeprodukte, Europäische Hochschulschriften, Reihe II: Rechtswissenschaft, vol. 3998, Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main 2004 [Prospectus liability of life insurance companies: foundations and scope of liability for prospectus-type consumer information in the distribution of private pension products] (doctoral thesis).
(ed.) The Switzerland Islamic Finance Handbook: Islamic Banking and Finance in Switzerland, IBF Institute Ltd., London 2009.

Articles and case notes

Freezing the Unfreezable: Trust Structures After the CJEU Judgments of 21 May 2026 in T Trust, FZ AR and SX – The retained-powers test, the trustee’s dilemma and the limits of drafting under art. 2(1) of Regulation 269/2014, Private Client Business (P.C.B.) 2026, Issue 4, pp. 144–158.
Trustees before the Swiss Transparency Register: The TJPG regime from 1 October 2026 in comparative perspective – beneficial ownership, the trustee’s holding obligation and the divergence from the United Kingdom, the European Union and the Asian significant-controller models, Trusts & Trustees 2026, ttag078.
Contentious trusts: when legacies divide – The court’s supervisory jurisdiction, the integrity of the trust and the limits of settlor control in cross-border family disputes – English, offshore, Hong Kong, Singapore, Swiss and Liechtenstein perspectives, Trusts & Trustees 2026, ttag066.
Perpetuity periods in modern trust structuring: Law, Practicality and Cross-Border Tensions – A Hong Kong and Geneva Perspective on Dynastic Wealth Planning after Hong Kong’s 2013 Reform and the Cayman Perpetuities (Amendment) Act 2024, Trusts & Trustees 2026, ttag063.
ADGM, DIFC oder RAK ICC? Ein Entscheidungsrahmen für die Familienstiftung in den Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten, Finanz-Rundschau (FR) 2026, pp. 787–794 [ADGM, DIFC or RAK ICC? A decision framework for the family foundation in the United Arab Emirates].
Legal Privilege in der Cloud – Beschlagnahmefreiheit bei serverbasierter Mandatskommunikation – Zur Reichweite der §§ 97, 160a StPO bei ausgelagerter anwaltlicher Datenhaltung und im Anwendungsbereich der E-Evidence-Verordnung (EU) 2023/1543, Neue Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts-, Steuer- und Unternehmensstrafrecht (NZWiSt) 2026, pp. 402 et seq. [Legal privilege in the cloud: protection from seizure of server-based client communications under §§ 97 and 160a of the German Code of Criminal Procedure and the E-Evidence Regulation (EU) 2023/1543].
(with Daniela Weber-Rey and Ulrike Mönnich) Lebensversicherung vor Veränderungen, Zeitschrift für Versicherungswesen (ZfV) 2005, pp. 494–496 [Life insurance facing change].
Anmerkung zu BGH, Urteil vom 14.3.2005 – II ZR 5/03, Der Betrieb (DB) 2005, pp. 1048–1049 [Case note on the judgment of the German Federal Court of Justice of 14 March 2005, II ZR 5/03].
Finanzvermittlung und Umsatzsteuer: Teilweise Klärung durch das BMF, Betriebs-Berater (BB) 2005, pp. 191–196 [Financial intermediation and VAT: partial clarification by the Federal Ministry of Finance].
Umsatzsteuerbefreiung für Kreditvermittlung, Betriebs-Berater (BB) 2004, pp. 521–525 [VAT exemption for credit intermediation].

Forthcoming

Die Abwahl des AGB-Rechts bei deutscher Rechtswahl – Gestaltungsspielräume vor Schiedsgerichten und staatlichen Gerichten nach dem Beschluss des BGH vom 9.1.2025 – I ZB 48/24 und Art. 3 Rom I-VO, Recht der Internationalen Wirtschaft (RIW) 2026 [Opting out of German standard terms law under a German choice of law: drafting options before arbitral tribunals and state courts after the Federal Court of Justice decision of 9 January 2025, I ZB 48/24, and Art. 3 Rome I Regulation].
Das Ende der Krypto-Anonymität – CARF und DAC8 für vermögende Privatpersonen mit Schweizer und asiatischem Bezug, Internationales Steuerrecht (IStR) 2026 [The end of crypto anonymity: CARF and DAC8 for high-net-worth individuals with Swiss and Asian connections].
Das gestaffelte Ende der Krypto-Anonymität – Tatentdeckung nach § 371 Abs. 2 S. 1 Nr. 2 AO und das jurisdiktionsabhängige Zeitfenster der Selbstanzeige bei Kryptowerten nach CARF, DAC 8 und KStTG, Praxis Steuerstrafrecht (PStR) 2026 [The staggered end of crypto anonymity: discovery of the offence under § 371(2) sentence 1 no. 2 of the German Fiscal Code and the jurisdiction-dependent window for voluntary disclosure of crypto-assets under CARF, DAC 8 and KStTG].
Marktzugang ohne EU-Lizenz: Reverse Solicitation und Drittstaatenregime unter MiCA nach dem 1. Juli 2026, Betriebs-Berater (BB) 2026 [Market access without an EU licence: reverse solicitation and the third-country regime under MiCA after 1 July 2026].
Strafrechtliche Leitungsverantwortung beim Einsatz Künstlicher Intelligenz, Neue Juristische Wochenschrift (NJW) 2026 [Criminal responsibility of management for the use of artificial intelligence].
Der Einsatz von KI bei der Kündigung von Arbeitsverhältnissen – Die Kündigung als höchstpersönliche Arbeitgeberentscheidung: Zurechnung, Wirksamkeit und Beweislast bei KI-gestützter Willensbildung nach Art. 22 DSGVO, Art. 14, 26 KI-VO und § 1 KSchG, Recht der Arbeit (RdA) 2026 [The use of AI in the termination of employment: attribution, validity and burden of proof under Art. 22 GDPR, Arts. 14 and 26 of the AI Act and § 1 of the German Dismissal Protection Act].
Das Sabbatical aus dem Wertguthaben – weder geleistete Arbeitszeit noch Entgeltfortzahlung (Besprechung von BAG, Urt. v. 28.1.2026 – 5 AZR 189/22), Neue Zeitschrift für Arbeitsrecht (NZA) 2026 [The sabbatical funded from a working-time account: neither working time nor continued remuneration; note on the Federal Labour Court judgment of 28 January 2026, 5 AZR 189/22].
Vom Abgabenrecht zum Sicherheitsrecht – die Funktionsverschiebung des Steuerrechts: Über die Metamorphose der Besteuerung vom Instrument der Staatsfinanzierung zum Instrument innerer und äußerer Sicherheit, Deutsches Steuerrecht (DStR) 2026 [From the law of levies to security law: how taxation is changing from an instrument of public finance into an instrument of internal and external security].
Das Skalenmodell der Wirksamkeit – Grundlegung einer allgemeinen Lehre der Unwirksamkeitsgrade im Allgemeinen Teil des BGB, Zeitschrift für die gesamte Privatrechtswissenschaft (ZfPW) 2026 [The scale model of validity: towards a general theory of degrees of invalidity in the General Part of the German Civil Code].