29-07-2025
AML Watcher Insight Reveals Escalated Secondary Sanctions Risk for ASEAN Nations Amidst Surging Russia Trade
Singapore, July 29, 2025 -- Businesses in ASEAN are also exposed to the risk of secondary sanctions by OFAC of the US Treasury. A study by AML Watcher reveals a significant and escalating risk of secondary sanctions for businesses in the region, as economic ties between ASEAN and Russia reach unprecedented levels.
The analysis underscores the necessity for a more sophisticated approach to sanctions screening for institutions in Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines to maintain access to vital U.S. markets.
In the wake of extensive economic sanctions imposed by the US, the EU, and other Western allies, Russia has shifted its economic engagement towards Asia, with trade in the ASEAN bloc reaching an all-time high. This presents a complex compliance challenge. While businesses in ASEAN are not legally obligated to comply with all U.S. sanctions unless a correspondent banking relationship is involved, dealing with some entities targeted by OFAC can trigger secondary sanctions. This could result in U.S. authorities directly sanctioning the ASEAN business, effectively blocking it from the U.S. financial system and all trade with American entities.
' The challenge for non-U.S. businesses is that most screening tools flood compliance teams with alerts for every OFAC-sanctioned entity. This creates a huge amount of irrelevant work, because these businesses only need to avoid the specific entities that trigger secondary sanctions,' said Raja Haris, GrowthManager at AML Watcher. " Legitimate business gets delayed or even rejected due to this compliance noise and a lack of clear risk understanding. '
This is precisely where AML Watcher's intelligent, risk-based approach provides a critical lifeline. Businesses ensure efficiency in AML compliance by cutting through the noise with AML Watcher's context-driven data, carefully labeled for secondary sanctions risks, and allowing them to:
' Our goal is to replace compliance noise with compliance intelligence,' added Haris. " We empower businesses to pursue growth opportunities securely by providing the clarity to distinguish between real threats and irrelevant alerts. This is how you trade with confidence in today's complex geopolitical landscape. '
About AML Watcher
AML Watcher offers a comprehensive suite of anti-money laundering (AML) compliance solutions, including sanctions, PEP, and adverse media screening, transaction screening and monitoring, and a complete case management system. Businesses can carefully manage their risk and combat financial crime by utilizing AML Watcher's distinct, intelligence-augmented screening solutions.
For more information on the insight or to learn more about AML Watcher's secondary sanctions data solutions, please visit
Contact Info:
Name: Oonagh Van Den Berg
Email: Send Email
Organization: AML Watcher
Website:
Release ID: 89165896
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