Statute Details
- Title: Financial Services and Markets (Freezing of Assets of Persons — South Sudan) Regulations 2023
- Act Code: FSMA2022-S239-2023
- Legislative Type: Subsidiary legislation (SL)
- Enacting Authority: Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
- Authorising Act: Financial Services and Markets Act 2022
- Key Enabling Provisions: Section 192, read with sections 15(1)(b) and 219(d) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2022
- Commencement / Operation Date: 28 April 2023
- Regulation Number: SL 239/2023
- Status: Current version as at 27 March 2026
- Core Subject Matter: Mandatory freezing of funds and other economic resources of “designated persons” under UN Security Council sanctions relating to South Sudan
- Key Provisions (Extract): Regulations 1–8 (notably regulation 5 (freezing), regulation 6 (information), regulation 7 (revocation), regulation 8 (saving/transitional))
What Is This Legislation About?
The Financial Services and Markets (Freezing of Assets of Persons — South Sudan) Regulations 2023 (“the Regulations”) implement, in Singapore law, targeted financial sanctions connected to South Sudan. In practical terms, the Regulations require financial institutions to identify whether they hold or control assets belonging to persons listed by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions framework, and—if so—to freeze those assets and prevent them from being made available to the listed individuals or entities.
The Regulations are designed to “assist in giving effect” to UNSC Resolution 2206 (2015). Resolution 2206 (2015) established measures including asset freezes against individuals and entities associated with threats to peace, security, or stability in South Sudan. Singapore’s approach is to translate those UN measures into enforceable obligations for regulated financial institutions in Singapore, backed by duties to report and to cooperate with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Although the Regulations are narrow in scope compared with broader anti-money laundering or counter-terrorism financing regimes, they are operationally significant: they create immediate, transaction-stopping obligations once a person is designated on the UN list. They also provide limited exceptions, typically for basic expenses, certain professional fees, extraordinary expenses (subject to necessity), and certain judicial or arbitral liens or judgments that meet specified conditions.
What Are the Key Provisions?
1. Purpose, application, and definitions (Regulations 2–4)
Regulation 2 states the object: assisting in giving effect to UNSC Resolution 2206 (2015). Regulation 3 provides the scope: the Regulations apply to all financial institutions in Singapore. This is important for practitioners because it avoids a narrow “banking only” interpretation; the obligation is imposed broadly across the financial sector.
Regulation 4 defines key terms. The most important are:
- “Committee”: the UNSC Committee established under paragraph 16 of Resolution 2206 (2015).
- “UN List”: the list of individuals/entities identified by the UNSC or the Committee, updated over time and made available on the official UN website.
- “designated person”: an individual or entity set out in the UN List, subject to conditions in Regulation 4(2) regarding when designation takes effect.
- “funds”: includes cheques, bank deposits, and other financial resources—capturing both cash-like and broader financial holdings.
2. When a person becomes “designated” (Regulation 4(2))
Regulation 4(2) is a practical compliance trigger. It provides that:
- If a person is added to the UN List on or after 28 April 2023, they are treated as a designated person with effect from the date immediately following the addition.
- If a person is removed, they cease to be designated with effect from the date of removal.
- If particulars are modified, the modifications take effect from the date immediately following the modification.
This “immediately following” approach matters for operational timing: institutions must ensure their screening and freeze processes can respond promptly to list updates, including modifications (which may affect identity matching).
3. Mandatory freezing and prohibition on making assets available (Regulation 5)
Regulation 5 is the heart of the Regulations. Under Regulation 5(1), subject to Regulation 5(3) (exceptions), any financial institution that has in its possession, custody, or control in Singapore any funds, other financial assets, or economic resources owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by a designated person must:
- (a) Immediately freeze all such funds/assets/resources; and
- (b) Ensure they are not made available, whether directly or indirectly, to or for the benefit of the designated person.
Regulation 5(2) expands the concept of “owned or controlled” by treating as owned/controlled by the designated person any funds/assets/resources held by:
- an entity owned or controlled (directly or indirectly) by the designated person; or
- any individual or entity acting on behalf of or under the direction of the designated person.
This is a key anti-circumvention feature. It prevents a designated person from avoiding sanctions by routing assets through controlled entities or intermediaries.
4. Exceptions and permitted dealings (Regulation 5(3) and (4))
Regulation 5(3) provides that the freezing requirement does not apply to funds/assets/resources that MAS determines are necessary for specified purposes. The exceptions include:
- Basic expenses, including foodstuff, rent, mortgage discharge, medicine, medical treatment, taxes, insurance premiums, and public utility charges.
- Exclusively for:
- reasonable professional fees and reimbursement of expenses connected with legal services; or
- fees/service charges for routine holding or maintenance of frozen funds/assets/resources.
- Extraordinary expenses (again, subject to MAS determination of necessity).
- Funds/assets/resources subject to a judicial, administrative, or arbitral lien or judgment, where:
- the lien/judgment arose or was entered before 3 March 2015; and
- it is not for the benefit of a designated person.
Regulation 5(4) addresses operational realities for frozen accounts. A financial institution may credit to an account frozen under Regulation 5(1:
- interest or other earnings due on the account; or
- payments due under contracts/agreements/obligations that arose before 22 December 2015,
but the credited amounts remain subject to the freezing prohibition in Regulation 5(1). In other words, the institution may process certain accruals, but cannot release them to the designated person.
5. Duty to provide information (Regulation 6)
Regulation 6 imposes an immediate reporting obligation. Every financial institution must immediately inform MAS if it:
- has possession, custody, or control in Singapore of funds/assets/resources owned or controlled by a designated person; or
- has information about any transaction or proposed transaction involving such funds/assets/resources.
The institution must also provide any further information relating to the funds/assets/resources or the transaction/proposed transaction that MAS may require. For practitioners, this is not limited to “completed” transactions; it extends to proposed transactions, which increases the need for robust transaction monitoring and escalation workflows.
6. Revocation and transitional treatment (Regulations 7–8)
Regulation 7 revokes the earlier Monetary Authority of Singapore (Freezing of Assets of Persons — South Sudan) Regulations 2015 (G.N. No. S 776/2015). Regulation 8 then provides continuity:
- Frozen assets continuity: any funds/assets/resources frozen under the revoked Regulations are treated as frozen under Regulation 5(1) of the new Regulations.
- Carry-over of determinations: any MAS determinations under the revoked Regulations in force immediately before 28 April 2023 are treated as determinations under Regulation 5(3) of the new Regulations.
- Carry-over of information: information provided under the revoked Regulations is treated as having been provided under Regulation 6, and any further information requirements are treated as requirements under the new Regulation 6.
This avoids legal uncertainty and ensures that compliance actions taken under the 2015 regime remain effective after commencement of the 2023 Regulations.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
The Regulations are structured as a short, operational instrument with eight regulations:
- Regulation 1: Citation and commencement (28 April 2023).
- Regulation 2: Object (implementation of UNSC Resolution 2206 (2015)).
- Regulation 3: Application (all financial institutions in Singapore).
- Regulation 4: Definitions, including the “designated person” concept and when designation takes effect.
- Regulation 5: Core freezing obligation, prohibition on making assets available, exceptions, and permitted credits to frozen accounts.
- Regulation 6: Duty to provide information to MAS, including for proposed transactions.
- Regulation 7: Revocation of the 2015 Regulations.
- Regulation 8: Saving and transitional provisions to preserve existing freezes, determinations, and reporting.
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
Regulation 3 applies the Regulations to all financial institutions in Singapore. While the extract does not define “financial institution,” the authorising framework in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2022 typically captures a wide range of regulated entities. Practically, this means banks, payment-related entities, and other regulated financial services providers should assume they fall within scope unless clearly excluded by the parent Act’s definition.
Obligations are triggered by the institution’s possession, custody, or control in Singapore of relevant assets, or by the institution’s knowledge of relevant transactions or proposed transactions. Therefore, the compliance perimeter is both asset-based (what the institution holds) and transaction-based (what the institution knows about dealings involving designated persons’ assets).
Why Is This Legislation Important?
For legal practitioners and compliance officers, these Regulations are significant because they create immediate, mandatory operational duties tied to the UN sanctions list. The “immediately freeze” requirement and the prohibition on making assets available “whether directly or indirectly” demand rapid internal controls, including screening, escalation, and account blocking processes.
From an enforcement and risk perspective, the combination of:
- strict freezing obligations (Regulation 5),
- expanded coverage to assets held through controlled entities or intermediaries (Regulation 5(2)), and
- an immediate duty to report both holdings and proposed transactions (Regulation 6)
means that failures are likely to be treated seriously. Institutions must also manage the limited exceptions carefully: permitted use of frozen assets depends on MAS determinations of necessity (Regulation 5(3)), and even where credits/earnings are allowed, they remain subject to freezing.
Finally, the transitional provisions (Regulation 8) are important for continuity in legal advice and audit trails. They confirm that freezes and determinations under the 2015 Regulations continue seamlessly under the 2023 regime, which helps practitioners avoid arguments about gaps in authority or the validity of prior compliance actions.
Related Legislation
- Financial Services and Markets Act 2022
- Markets Act 2022 (as referenced in the metadata)
- UN Security Council Resolution 2206 (2015)
- Monetary Authority of Singapore (Freezing of Assets of Persons — South Sudan) Regulations 2015 (G.N. No. S 776/2015) (revoked)
Source Documents
This article provides an overview of the Financial Services and Markets (Freezing of Assets of Persons — South Sudan) Regulations 2023 for legal research and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult the official text for authoritative provisions.