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Trade Finance, Fraud and Risk (1978–2026)

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  • 1978: Singapore imposes unilateral sanctions after the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia, the last such step before 2022.1
  • 1992: The Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act begins as a statute against drug proceeds. Its scope later extends to a long list of serious offences.2
  • 1998: The Electronic Transactions Act makes Singapore the first country to implement the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce.3
  • 2000: The Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act makes the Attorney-General the central authority for legal assistance.4
  • January 2016: After the Iran nuclear agreement, MAS revises its Iran regulations. The sanctions are reapplied under the snapback mechanism on 27 September 2025.5
  • April 2017: The public-private partnership ACIP brings together banks, regulators and law enforcement against money laundering.6
  • 23 December 2017: The CPIB serves a conditional warning on Keppel Offshore & Marine for bribes paid in Brazil. The company concludes a deferred prosecution agreement in the United States on the same day.7
  • 19 March 2018: Parliament passes the Criminal Justice Reform Act 2018, which introduces deferred prosecution agreements.8
  • 2018: The Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act consolidates the law on judicial management and winding up.9
  • February 2020: The High Court places Agritrade International under interim judicial management. Its liabilities are put at about 1.55 billion US dollars.10
  • 17 April 2020: Hin Leong Trading files for court protection after its founder Lim Oon Kuin discloses some 800 million US dollars of hidden futures losses. Twenty-three banks are owed about 3.5 billion US dollars.11
  • May 2020: HSBC applies for the judicial management of ZenRock Commodities Trading, citing duplicate invoices and “dishonest practices”.12
  • 30 November 2020: The Association of Banks in Singapore publishes the Code of Best Practices – Commodity Financing, adopted by 28 banks.13
  • 19 March 2021: The amended Electronic Transactions Act adopts the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records.14
  • 5 March 2022: Singapore announces sanctions and export controls against Russia. MAS issues Notice SNR-N01 on 14 March, and the export controls enter into force on 16 March.15
  • 1 June 2022: SGTraDex, a public-private data infrastructure for trade, is launched.16
  • 23 June 2023: The Trade Finance Registry against duplicate financing goes live. By February 2025 it has processed more than 18,000 queries.17
  • 8 February 2024: Amendments to the CDSA introduce offences at lower levels of fault, including the money mule offence.18
  • 18 November 2024: Lim Oon Kuin is sentenced to 17½ years’ imprisonment for fraud. The High Court reduces the sentence to 13½ years in March 2026.19
  • 10 January 2025: The United States designates 183 vessels of the Russian shadow fleet in a single action.20
  • 30 July 2025: Seatrium, the former Sembcorp Marine, concludes Singapore’s first deferred prosecution agreement, with a penalty of 110 million US dollars. The High Court approves it on 24 April 2026.21
  • 1 December 2026: The Strategic Goods (Control) Order 2026 takes effect.22

Notes

  1. Wikipedia, “Russia–Singapore relations” (accessed November 2026); see Chapter H.IV. ↩
  2. Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992, Singapore Statutes Online; see Chapter H.III. ↩
  3. Infocomm Media Development Authority, “Electronic Transactions Act”; see Chapter H.I. ↩
  4. Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 2000, Singapore Statutes Online; see Chapter H.V. ↩
  5. Lloyd’s List; Monetary Authority of Singapore, “Lists of Designated Individuals and Entities”; see Chapter H.IV. ↩
  6. Inter-Ministerial Committee on Anti-Money Laundering, Report, October 2024; see Chapter H.III. ↩
  7. CPIB, “Conditional Warning Issued to Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd”; Wikipedia, “Keppel Corporation”; see Chapter H.V. ↩
  8. Criminal Justice Reform Act 2018 (No. 19 of 2018); see Chapter H.V. ↩
  9. Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (Act 40 of 2018); see Chapters F.I and H.II. ↩
  10. Singapore Police Force, “Founder of Agritrade International Pte Ltd charged”; The Star (Reuters), 28 February 2020; see Chapter H.II. ↩
  11. Wikipedia, “Hin Leong” (accessed November 2026); see Chapter H.II. ↩
  12. China Daily Hong Kong, 8 May 2020; see Chapter H.II. ↩
  13. Association of Banks in Singapore, Code of Best Practices – Commodity Financing; see Chapters H.I and H.II. ↩
  14. Electronic Transactions Act 2010 (2020 Rev Ed), Part 2A; see Chapters B.II and H.I. ↩
  15. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Sanctions and Restrictions against Russia”, 5 March 2022; Baker McKenzie; Allen & Gledhill; see Chapter H.IV. ↩
  16. Association of Banks in Singapore and SGTraDex, joint media release; see Chapter H.I. ↩
  17. Association of Banks in Singapore, media release of 23 June 2023; see Chapters H.I and H.II. ↩
  18. CDSA, s 54(3A) and s 55A, inserted by Act 15 of 2023; see Chapter H.III. ↩
  19. GTR, “Hin Leong founder jailed”, 18 November 2024; Malay Mail, March 2026; see Chapters B.I and H.II. ↩
  20. US Department of the Treasury, press release JY2777, 10 January 2025; see Chapter H.IV. ↩
  21. Republic of Singapore Government Gazette, Notice No. 2439 of 30 April 2026; see Chapter H.V. ↩
  22. Singapore Customs, “Strategic Goods Control Overview”; see Chapter H.IV. ↩

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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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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