Blockchain-based regulatory assurance for sanctions-exposed electricity procurement in post-conflict markets

Abstract

Electricity procurement in post-conflict settings faces serious legal and financial pressure, especially when markets operate under sanctions and weak institutional control. Reconstruction requires fast contracting for fuel supply, repair works, and grid recovery, yet these processes often lack strong oversight and trusted payment systems. Existing studies discuss blockchain applications in energy, but they give less attention to how legal recognition and regulatory assurance can be supported in procurement affected by jurisdiction-specific sanctions regimes. This gap creates uncertainty for investors, regulators, and contractors, where compliance risks and payment delays can stop essential projects. The study is motivated by this challenge, focusing on how a structured legal framework can support secure and accountable procurement processes. The aim of this research is to develop a framework that connects blockchain records with legal and regulatory systems so that procurement actions and contract milestones can be documented, reviewed, and more readily relied upon in oversight and dispute processes. The study explains how ledger entries can function as evidence, how responsibilities are assigned, and how dispute processes can rely on these records. This research is important because it offers a clear model to support trust, reduce risks, and improve financial flows in electricity markets recovering from conflict while respecting legal limits, confidentiality requirements, and data-protection concerns. As a conceptual and jurisdiction-neutral framework, the study does not claim uniform legal recognition or empirical effectiveness across jurisdictions; rather, its application requires validation against jurisdiction-specific legal rules, institutional capacities, and sanctions regimes.