Five Singapore-based companies under US sanctions for enabling Russia’s war activities

ONE-SIDED, BUT BEARING WEIGHT

“Unlike UN sanctions, US sanctions are unilateral,” explained S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies research fellow Muhammad Faizal Abdul Rahman.

“But they carry significant weight because the United States is the world’s largest economy by GDP (gross domestic product) and it is a global power that dominates the international financial system.”

He said foreign companies subject to U.S. sanctions would have difficulty doing business with U.S. entities or individuals and selling or obtaining goods and services in the U.S. market.

Such sanctions would also isolate these companies from the international financial system, Faizal said.

“These sanctions could also act as indirect political pressure on other countries, particularly those in the non-Western world, to do more to rein in sanctioned companies and to be more united with the West in efforts to weaken Russia’s economy and military complex,” he said. .

Dr. Shashi Jayakumar, executive director of security consultancy SJK Geostrategic Advisory, noted that this is not the first time that entities or individuals in Singapore have been included on OFAC’s sanctions list.

“Singapore entities and individuals have been designated under OFAC in the past due to their ties to or transactions with North Korea, Iran or Myanmar,” he said.

In March 2022, Singapore imposed financial measures targeting designated Russian banks, entities and activities in Russia, as well as fundraising activities for the Russian government.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said at the time that the Singapore government had imposed export controls on products that could be “directly used as weapons to harm or subjugate Ukrainians,” as well as items that could contribute to offensive cyber operations.