Sanctions and Export Controls: UN Measures, Russia and Secondary Sanctions: summary

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Singapore gives effect to the sanctions of the United Nations Security Council through the United Nations Act 2001, regulations of the Monetary Authority under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2022 and trade controls administered by Singapore Customs, and its courts have construed these measures precisely, as The “Sahand” showed in 2011. Its long-standing policy of enforcing only United Nations sanctions saw its first major exception since 1978 in the measures against Russia of February and March 2022, which ban exports of military goods and certain electronic, computer and telecommunications items and bar financial institutions from dealing with four Russian banks, financing new Russian state debt or using digital payment tokens to circumvent these rules. American, European and British sanctions, which Singapore does not enforce, reach its banks, traders and shipowners through the dollar, correspondent banking, insurance, group policies and contract clauses, as the secondary sanctions of Executive Order 14114 and the designations of networks using Singapore-origin goods illustrate. Ship-to-ship transfers in the waters around Singapore and the growth of shadow fleets carrying Russian and Iranian oil have turned maritime risk into a core compliance subject and a question of public safety, which Singapore addresses through port state control and the diligence of its private sector. The Strategic Goods (Control) Act 2002, with its catch-all clause, value-based penalties and new control order of December 2026, completes a sanctions framework that allows Singapore to remain a hub between East and West while proving to its partners that the hub is not a channel of evasion.

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.

If you are planning a company incorporation, an investment, a holding structure or a market entry through Singapore, you can reach Dr Ressos directly at [email protected]. Singapore law advice is provided by KGP Legal LLC, a licensed firm of Singapore advocates and solicitors. As a Singapore law practice, KGP Legal LLC is authorised under the Legal Profession Act 1966 to advise on Singapore law and to represent clients before the Singapore courts; foreign law practices with an office in Singapore are, as a rule, not permitted to do either. Dr Ressos and his team facilitate the full range of Singapore legal, compliance and company administration services, including company incorporation, corporate transactions, commercial contracts, crypto and digital assets, financial regulatory work and dispute resolution, including litigation in the Singapore courts. For legal, tax and fiduciary services in Switzerland, see helveticaregister.com.