Statute Details
- Title: Financial Services and Markets (Freezing of Assets of Persons — Sudan) Regulations 2023
- Act Code: FSMA2022-S233-2023
- Type: Subsidiary Legislation (sl)
- Authorising Act: Financial Services and Markets Act 2022
- Enacting authority: Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
- Enacting formula (powers used): Section 192, read with sections 15(1)(b) and 219(d) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2022
- Commencement: 28 April 2023
- Object: To assist in giving effect to UN Security Council Resolution 1591 (2005)
- Status: Current version as at 27 March 2026
- Key provisions: Regulation 5 (asset freezing), Regulation 6 (duty to provide information), Regulation 7 (revocation), Regulation 8 (saving/transitional)
What Is This Legislation About?
The Financial Services and Markets (Freezing of Assets of Persons — Sudan) Regulations 2023 (“Sudan Freezing Regulations”) are Singapore’s domestic legal mechanism for implementing targeted financial sanctions linked to the United Nations. In particular, the Regulations are designed to give effect to UN Security Council Resolution 1591 (2005), which established measures including the freezing of funds and other financial resources belonging to individuals and entities designated by the UN.
In practical terms, the Regulations require financial institutions in Singapore to identify whether they hold or control assets belonging to “designated persons” and, if so, to freeze those assets and prevent them from being made available for the benefit of those persons. The Regulations also impose an immediate reporting obligation: if a financial institution holds such assets or has information about relevant transactions, it must inform MAS and provide further information upon request.
Although the Regulations are titled “Persons — Sudan”, the operative trigger is not a geographic test. Instead, the trigger is whether the person or entity appears on the UN’s “1591 List” (as updated by the UN Security Council or its relevant Committee). This means the compliance exercise is fundamentally list-based and dynamic: designated persons can be added, removed, or have particulars modified over time.
What Are the Key Provisions?
1. Definitions and the “1591 List” framework (Regulation 4)
The Regulations define the “1591 List” as the list of individuals or entities identified by the UN Security Council or the Committee as subject to the measures in paragraph 3 of Resolution 1591 (2005). The list is updated from time to time and made available on the official UN website. The Regulations also define the “Committee” and the term “designated person”.
The definition of “designated person” includes important temporal conditions. If an individual or entity is added to the 1591 List on or after 28 April 2023, that person is treated as a designated person with effect from the date immediately following the date of addition. If a person is removed, they cease to be designated with effect from the date of removal. If particulars are modified on or after 28 April 2023, the modifications are treated as effective from the date immediately following the date of modification.
2. Mandatory freezing and non-availability (Regulation 5)
Regulation 5 is the core compliance obligation. Subject to limited exceptions in Regulation 5(3), any financial institution that has in its possession, custody or control in Singapore any funds, financial assets or economic resources owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by a designated person must do two things immediately:
- Freeze all such funds, financial assets or economic resources; and
- Ensure non-availability—ensure those resources are not made available, whether directly or indirectly, to or for the benefit of the designated person.
Regulation 5(2) expands the scope beyond assets held directly by the designated person. It provides that funds, financial assets or economic resources held by (a) any entity owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by a designated person, or (b) any individual or entity who acts on behalf or under the direction of any designated person, are treated as owned or controlled by the designated person. This is a common feature of sanctions regimes: it targets circumvention through intermediaries and controlled entities.
3. Exceptions and MAS determinations (Regulation 5(3))
Freezing is not absolute. Regulation 5(3) states that the freezing/non-availability requirement does not apply to assets that MAS has determined are necessary for specified purposes. These include:
- Basic expenses, including payments for foodstuff, rent, discharge of a mortgage, medicine, medical treatment, taxes, insurance premiums, and public utility charges; and
- Exclusively for (A) reasonable professional fees and reimbursement of expenses connected with legal services, or (B) fees or service charges imposed for routine holding or maintenance of frozen assets; and
- Extraordinary expenses (where MAS determines necessity); and
- Judicial/administrative/arbitral liens or judgments entered before 29 March 2005, provided the lien or judgment is not for the benefit of a designated person.
For practitioners, the key point is that these carve-outs are not self-executing. They depend on an Authority determination by MAS. Therefore, even where a transaction appears to fit within one of the categories, a financial institution should not assume it is permitted without the relevant MAS determination.
4. Duty to provide information (Regulation 6)
Regulation 6 imposes an immediate reporting duty on every financial institution that either:
- has possession, custody or control in Singapore of funds, financial assets or economic resources owned or controlled (directly or indirectly) by a designated person; or
- has information about any transaction or proposed transaction in respect of such assets.
The institution must immediately inform MAS of that fact or information and provide any further information relating to the assets or the transaction/proposed transaction that MAS may require. This provision is crucial for enforcement effectiveness: it enables MAS to monitor compliance, assess whether exceptions should be granted, and respond to evolving risk.
5. Revocation and continuity (Regulations 7 and 8)
Regulation 7 revokes the earlier Monetary Authority of Singapore (Freezing of Assets of Persons — Sudan) Regulations 2006 (G.N. No. S 553/2006). Regulation 8 then provides saving and transitional provisions to ensure continuity and avoid legal gaps.
Specifically, Regulation 8(1) provides that any funds, financial assets or economic resources frozen under Regulation 5(1) of the revoked Regulations are treated as frozen under Regulation 5(1) of the new Regulations. Regulation 8(2) preserves MAS determinations made under the revoked Regulations that were in force immediately before 28 April 2023, treating them as determinations under the new Regulations. Regulation 8(3) similarly preserves information already provided under the revoked reporting duty and treats any further information requirements as continuing under the new Regulation 6.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
The Regulations are structured as a short, operational instrument with eight regulations:
- Regulation 1 sets out the citation and commencement (28 April 2023).
- Regulation 2 states the object: implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1591 (2005).
- Regulation 3 provides the application: all financial institutions in Singapore.
- Regulation 4 contains definitions, including the “1591 List”, the UN “Committee”, and the concept of “designated person” with effective-date rules for additions/removals/modifications.
- Regulation 5 sets out the freezing and non-availability obligations, including MAS-determined exceptions.
- Regulation 6 imposes the immediate duty to inform MAS and provide further information.
- Regulation 7 revokes the 2006 Regulations.
- Regulation 8 provides saving and transitional provisions to preserve existing freezes, determinations, and reporting continuity.
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
Regulation 3 states that the Regulations apply to all financial institutions in Singapore. While the extract does not define “financial institution”, the authorising framework is the Financial Services and Markets Act 2022, under which MAS typically regulates a broad range of entities engaged in financial services. Practitioners should therefore treat the scope as potentially wide, covering banks, payment-related institutions, and other regulated financial intermediaries that hold or process funds and financial assets.
The operational obligations in Regulations 5 and 6 are triggered by the institution’s possession, custody or control in Singapore of relevant assets, and by the institution’s knowledge of relevant transactions or proposed transactions. This means that compliance is not limited to direct account holders; it extends to assets held through controlled entities or intermediaries acting on behalf of designated persons (Regulation 5(2)).
Why Is This Legislation Important?
These Regulations are important because they translate UN targeted sanctions into enforceable Singapore obligations. For financial institutions, the Regulations create a clear “freeze and report” compliance model: identify designated persons using the UN list, freeze relevant assets immediately, prevent access or benefit, and report promptly to MAS.
From a legal risk perspective, the Regulations are significant in three ways. First, the obligations apply to assets owned or controlled directly or indirectly, including through controlled entities and persons acting under direction. This increases the need for robust ownership/control mapping and effective screening of counterparties and intermediaries. Second, the exceptions are narrow and depend on MAS determinations—so institutions must manage requests for authorisations carefully and avoid informal or assumption-based releases. Third, the reporting duty is immediate and covers both existing holdings and transaction intelligence, which means compliance teams must integrate sanctions screening with transaction monitoring and suspicious activity escalation processes.
For practitioners advising institutions, the transitional provisions in Regulation 8 also matter. They confirm that existing freezes and MAS determinations under the revoked 2006 Regulations continue under the 2023 framework. This reduces disruption but also requires careful internal documentation: institutions should ensure their sanctions compliance records reflect the continuity of determinations and the correct legal basis under the current Regulations.
Related Legislation
- Financial Services and Markets Act 2022 (authorising Act; including sections referenced in the enacting formula)
- Markets Act 2022 (listed in metadata; relevant context for the broader regulatory framework)
- Monetary Authority of Singapore (Freezing of Assets of Persons — Sudan) Regulations 2006 (revoked by Regulation 7)
- UN Security Council Resolution 1591 (2005) (international sanctions basis implemented domestically)
Source Documents
This article provides an overview of the Financial Services and Markets (Freezing of Assets of Persons — Sudan) Regulations 2023 for legal research and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult the official text for authoritative provisions.