Sponsored briefing: Methods of money laundering: Circumventing anti-money laundering mechanisms

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Sponsored briefing: Methods of money laundering: Circumventing anti-money laundering mechanisms

Money laundering continues to be an issue for both financial services providers and their clients. In particular, money launderers continue to circumvent compliance measures by relocating to less-regulated, often cash-intense sectors. Because money launderers are not bound by parliamentary decision processes, they are able to react faster and exercise more flexibility than those who are responsible for keeping them in check. This goes to show that it is not only helpful but necessary for compliance officers and other diligent actors to be able to empathise with money launderers and how they operate.

At Teichmann International, we believe that in order to be able to effectively prevent money laundering, one needs to look at compliance from the money launderer’s perspective. Money launderers generally avoid methods and industries that fall within the scope of Anti-Money Laundering Acts. Moreover, they frequently split larger amounts of incriminated money to undercut threshold values for cash payments. Particularly well suited are investments in tangible assets because they facilitate placement of incriminated cash by changing the value carrier. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Methods of money laundering: Circumventing anti-money laundering mechanisms”

Sponsored briefing: The award-winning real estate lawyers offering flexible support to legal teams

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Sponsored briefing: The award-winning real estate lawyers offering flexible support to legal teams

Dr Peter Allinson, chief executive of specialist real estate law firm Davitt Jones Bould, explains how the practice is partnering with other firms to help them approach their workflow in a strategic and adaptable new way

Now, more than ever, law firms and their partners are under pressure to maintain quality and consistency in their service delivery in the face of ever-tighter timescales, downward pressure on pricing and volatile market conditions. In response to this, we are already seeing the industry adapting business models and processes to improve cost-efficiency and become more flexible and responsive to the fluctuations in demand – from north-shoring and the outsourcing of legal processes to automation and the exploration of AI. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: The award-winning real estate lawyers offering flexible support to legal teams”

Sponsored focus on Davitt Jones Bould

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Sponsored focus on Davitt Jones Bould

Davitt Jones Bould, Level 24 The Shard, 32 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9SG
T: 020 7870 7500 | E: peter.allinson@djblaw.co.uk | W: www.djblaw.co.uk
The Legal 500 rankings (London): Commercial property: corporate occupiers; commercial property: investors; commercial property: developers; planning; property litigation; local government

  • National firm specialising in real estate law.
  • Circa 40 lawyers averaging over 20 years Post Qualification Experience (PQE).
  • All lawyers come from senior roles at City, international and national law firms or in-house roles.
  • Advised on some of the UK’s most famous landmarks including Admiralty Arch, 10 Downing Street, St James Park, Hyde Park, Horseguards Parade, the Sandringham Estate, House of Lords and the Old Admiralty Building.
  • Clients include The Royal Parks, UK Health Security Agency, TV celebrity chef Rick Stein’s restaurant group and a number of top 20 law firms.

 

The team

Chief executive: Dr Peter Allinson (pictured)

Legal 500 ranked lawyers

  • Madeleine Davitt, senior partner
  • Tony Fitzmaurice
  • Sean Bulman
  • Teresa Kamppari Baker
  • Louisa Swanton
  • Melanie Greer-Walker
  • John Qualtrough
  • Kevin Fry
  • Maeve Bonner
  • Jonathan Warner-Reed
  • Philippa Hipwell
  • Yohanna Weber
  • Tim Sylvester-Jones
  • Stuart Bould
  • Michael Wear
  • Richard Holmes
  • Abi Kay

At a glance: Davitt Jones Bould

Headcount: Over 40 lawyers, averaging over 20 years’ PQE

Number of offices: Four (London West End, London City, Birmingham, Manchester)

Key clients: The Royal Parks, UK Health Security Agency, TV celebrity chef Rick Stein’s restaurant group and a number of top 20 law firms.

Sponsored briefing: The effect of recent English Supreme Court judgments on GCC-based arbitration

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Sponsored briefing: The effect of recent English Supreme Court judgments on GCC-based arbitration

Robert Sliwinski, of counsel at Alsuwaidi & Company, explains how common law principles are transforming international arbitration proceedings in the GCC region

Over the past six months there have been two important judgments in the Supreme Court of England and Wales which are likely to influence GCC-based arbitrations where they are based on common law procedures and rules. They may also impact arbitrations seated in the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC), the Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM) and the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) which are pockets of common law jurisdiction within the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar Civil Law Structures.
Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: The effect of recent English Supreme Court judgments on GCC-based arbitration”

Sponsored briefing: Container securitisation thriving in Bermuda

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Sponsored briefing: Container securitisation thriving in Bermuda

Over the last decade, leased container securitisation transactions have increasingly enabled container lessors to raise capital and leverage growth opportunities based on strong performance and outlook in the container leasing sector. Bermuda has played an integral role for market-leading lessors such as Textainer and Triton, and has a trusted reputation among lessors as the leading offshore jurisdiction offering flexible and innovative structures for container securitisation transactions.

Structuring a Bermuda Container Securitisation Transaction

A typical container securitisation transaction involves the incorporation of a special purpose vehicle (SPV), normally a Bermuda exempted company, although exempted limited liability companies (LLCs) can also be used. The SPV can either be directly owned by the parent or use an orphan structure (held by a Bermuda purpose trust) which removes the asset from the parent’s balance sheet. The SPV will purchase the container leases (or other specified assets) with some form of regular cash flow and issue loan notes or preference shares in the capital markets to finance the purchase. The repayment of principal and interest on such notes is then secured by the purchased assets and the accompanying cash flow. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Container securitisation thriving in Bermuda”

Sponsored briefing: Romanian criminal judicial bodies must comply with fiscal courts’ final judgments

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Sponsored briefing: Romanian criminal judicial bodies must comply with fiscal courts’ final judgments

The Decision of the Romanian Constitutional Court no. 102/17.02.2021 is set to completely change the approach towards tax evasion cases, stating that criminal prosecution bodies must from now on give appropriate consideration to final decisions rendered by fiscal courts that establish the existence or non-existence of a prejudice brought to the consolidated State budget.

In many cases, criminal prosecution bodies are notified regarding a possible tax evasion offence, following fiscal audits carried out by the National Agency for Fiscal Administration. The latter issues administrative and fiscal documents that may be challenged separately, before fiscal courts. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Romanian criminal judicial bodies must comply with fiscal courts’ final judgments”

Sponsored briefing: Q&A with Matouk Bassiouny UAE

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Sponsored briefing: Q&A with Matouk Bassiouny UAE

Can you give our Legal Business readers an overview of Matouk Bassiouny’s practice in the UAE?

Matouk Bassiouny in the UAE was established in 2018, incorporated on the ADGM initially, expanded afterwards in Dubai via a branch office. Matouk Bassiouny in the UAE is a full fledge law firm offering a wide variety of legal services to a wide spectrum of its clientele. In 2021, Jirayr Habibian joined the firm as its managing partner, with an aim to further strengthen the presence of the firm in the UAE, leveraging on the 20 years of experience Jirayr has in the UAE and the wider GCC.

What do you see as the main points that rank Matouk Bassiouny as a leading firm in the UAE legal business market?

Matouk Bassiouny’s competitive edge in the UAE is the ability to leverage on its large and talented regional, as well as its flexibility in allocating resources for any project, no matter how complex or big the project. This allows the firm in the UAE to be more flexible in its structure as well as more responsive to clients.

Furthermore, the quality and turnaround time that Matouk Bassiouny’s team commits towards its client base is an important component of the overall success of the firm.

Given the problems created by the Covid-19 pandemic, how is this affecting your firm and the legal business market generally in the UAE?

In its initial phases, Covid-19 did have an impact on the transactional market, however the contentious market continued to function, especially with the adaptation the courts in the UAE had to implement, as well as the phenomenal speed in the transformation towards a digital judicial system in the UAE. Law firms had to adjust to this transformation and adopt measures to follow which, in our opinion, speeded up the process of digitalising the overall judicial system as well as the law firms.

Further down the line as the markets and businesses resumed from full lockdown, and the very well managed pandemic crisis management adopted by the different local and federal authorities in the UAE, the legal business market naturally picked up and we are seeing more and more return to certain pre-pandemic levels.

Can you talk about any trends or changes in the landscape you are seeing emerge in the UAE legal business market?

The UAE legal market is evolving with the evolution of the legal system in the UAE. In the past several months we have witnessed many changes and amendments to laws that are making the UAE more and more attractive to conducting business. With competition in the GCC region starting to pick up (eg, the changes and opening of the Saudi markets) the UAE had to take further steps to increase and strengthen foreign investments. We have witnessed a liberalisation in the ownership of onshore companies (that has always been a highly protected sector where UAE nationality was mandatory to establish onshore) in a wide spectrum of activities. We are seeing Abu Dhabi, for example, opening up its energy sector (to an extent) to foreign ownership, in addition to a wide range of industrial activities. Furthermore, the UAE is also keeping pace with the ‘digital’ revolution and encouraging many start-ups in many domains. We see fintech being encouraged, alternative agriculture being developed (vertical hydroponics), and crowd funding being regulated more and more.

In a nutshell, the legal system and legal business market in the UAE is growing and keeping pace with what we see in other countries and in some cases even leading the way.

How is your firm positioned for an anticipated resurgence in activity in the UAE legal business market?

Our firm, as mentioned earlier, is very well positioned to take advantage of the resurgence in activity in the UAE legal market, since we have a very active team on the ground, with experience and network in the UAE, backed up by a robust regional structure, which makes Matouk Bassiouny in the UAE very well positioned to react to the market’s needs.

Which sectors are/will be of most interest to foreign investors, and why?

The real estate sector remains a very wanted commodity in the UAE market, however, we see now, with the liberalisation of the foreign ownership, an increasing interest in the healthcare sector (Covid-19 being one of the drivers, in addition to the oncological sector). Namely after the signing of the Abraham Accord, we are seeing an increased interest in the healthcare sector, industrial sector, sustainable energy etc. In parallel, Dubai and the UAE, given its location, remains a very competitive location for trade business, not to forget the increasing importance the UAE has in the fintech and digitalisation areas.

Are there any main changes which you have personally made within the firm that will benefit clients?

Given my very brief history with the firm (I joined on 1 April 2021) I am not in a position to have made any changes yet, although the system laid down by the founders, Omar Bassiouny and John Matouk has so far proven quite efficient with clients in the UAE, a system in which I am planing to leverage and, of course, ultimately introduce certain additions that could and will go along with the intuitu-personae I can contribute to the firm.

What has been your greatest achievement, in a professional and personal capacity?

Again, my time with the firm is yet at its beginning hence I cannot really talk about my greatest achievement within the firm quite yet. I hope that come 2022, should this interview be repeated, I will be able to share some success stories.

For more information, please contact:

Jirayr Habibian, managing partner, Matououk Bassiouny

T: +(971) 4289 2159
E: jirayr.habibian@matoukbassiouny.com

matoukbassiouny.com

Sponsored firm focus: Focus on Musat & Asociatii

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Sponsored firm focus: Focus on Musat & Asociatii

Chairman and managing partner: Gheorghe Muşat | Deputy managing partners: Răzvan Stoicescu, Paul Buta

Number of partners: 13 | Number of lawyers and other fee-earners: 100 + | Languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Romanian

Romania, Bucharest office: 43 Aviatorilor Bd., 1st District 011853 | T: +40 21 202 5900 | F: +40 21 223 3957 | E: general@musat.ro | W: www.musat.ro

Brasov office: 4 Diaconu Coresi St., 1st Floor, 500025 | T: +0368 006 105 | F: +0368 006 108 | E: general@musat.ro | W: www.musat.ro

 

Muşat & Asociaţii is a leading, full-service Romanian law firm, advising leading national and international companies alike, as well as governmental authorities and agencies, financial institutions and investment funds. Over 2,500 high-profile clients benefit from top-notch legal expertise and extensive resources, provided via 13 partners and over 100 dedicated attorneys. Muşat & Asociaţii is a pioneer in the business law industry and one of the first established law firms in the country, tracing its history back 30 years.

Areas of practice

M&A/PRIVATISATIONS: acting on complex cross-border transactions and on a full range of deal structures.
Clients: Penta Investments, Spectrum Brands, DAMEN Shipyards Mangalia, Sterling Resources, Enel Group, SABMiller, GDF Suez, Abbott, CRH Ireland.

CORPORATE AND COMMERCIAL: structuring and negotiating complex secured and unsecured transactions.
Clients: Amazon, Google, Facebook, Emerson, Dell, Nokia, Penta Investments, Premier Capital.
Contacts: Gheorghe Mușat, managing partner (musat@musat.ro); Răzvan Stoicescu, deputy managing partner (razvan.stoicescu@musat.ro); Iulian Popescu, partner (iulian.popescu@musat.ro)

LITIGATION AND ARBITRATION: the full spectrum of representation, from lower courts to the High Court of Cassation and Justice and the Constitutional Court.
Clients: Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding, BCR Banca pentru Locuinţe, FirstBank, Kaufland, Enel, thyssenkrupp, Roche, Abbott, Oracle, Eli Lilly, Colas, TriGranit, GDF Suez, Panalpina, KMG International, Copisa Constructora Pirenaica.
Contacts: Cosmin Libotean, partner (cosmin.libotean@musat.ro); Paul Buta, deputy managing partner (paul.buta@musat.ro); Răzvan Stoicescu, deputy managing partner (razvan.stoicescu@musat.ro)

REAL ESTATE AND CONSTRUCTION: advises on the acquisition of land, construction and maintenance, permitting aspects, residential, office and commercial projects, as well as mixed-use scheme developments and asset management work.
Clients: Brookfield, Adesgo, Novares, Teconnex, CRH, InterCora, Kaufland, Buck Consultants, TriGranit, ING Real Estate, Sogeprom, Daimler, Grupo Lar, CAF, Italferr, European Investment Bank.
Contact: Monia Dobrescu, partner (monia.dobrescu@musat.ro)

ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES: experienced in encompassing energy trading, generation, distribution, transmission and supply licensing, emissions trading and renewable energy and environmental legal aspects related.
Clients: Electrica, Hidroelectrica, Electrica Furnizare, Repower, Nereo GreenCapital, Electromagnetica, Wellbore Integrity Solutions, Kraftanlagen Romania, Omya Calcita.
Contacts: Iulian Popescu, Partner (iulian.popescu@musat.ro); Răzvan Stoicescu, deputy managing partner (razvan.stoicescu@musat.ro)

INFRASTRUCTURE AND PPP/PUBLIC PROCUREMENT: assists clients in public tenders, property finance and leasing, concession of public assets and services, drafting and negotiating PPPs and concession agreements, feasibility studies.
Clients: Solar Turbines, CCCC, Harris Corporation, Elbit, Sutech, CAF, European Investment Bank.
Contact: Iulian Popescu, Partner (iulian.popescu@musat.ro)

BANKING AND FINANCE: advises on syndicated loans; structured, acquisition, asset and project finance; securitisation.
Clients: EBRD, PPF banka, UniCredit, Citi, Raiffeisen, BRD Societe Generale, Ciech S.A., European Investment Fund, Barclays PLC, Nokia, Alcatel-Lucent, Novares, Alior Bank, Google Cloud Platform, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC.
Contact: Monia Dobrescu, partner (monia.dobrescu@musat.ro); Răzvan Stoicescu, deputy managing partner (razvan.stoicescu@musat.ro)

CAPITAL MARKETS: handles transactions involving publicly held companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange.
Clients: Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, HSBC, JP Morgan, Citibank, Northern Trust, BNY Mellon (members of the Association of Global Custodians), Barclays PLC, Romanian Financial Supervisory Authority, UBS, Swiss Capital, BT Securities, Citi, Raiffeisen, Société Générale.
Contact: Răzvan Stoicescu, deputy managing partner (razvan.stoicescu@musat.ro)

TELECOMS, IT AND MEDIA: advises in all areas of communications, broadcasting, E-commerce, internet services, software development and licensing, infrastructure and equipment finance.
Clients: Verizon, Porsche, Disney, Sony, Google, Apple, Intel, Intact Media, AT&T, Amazon.
Contact: Iulian Popescu, Partner (iulian.popescu@musat.ro)

COMPETITION AND ANTITRUST: legal assistance in all stages of antitrust proceedings and investigations carried out at national and EU level, concerning both cartel-type behaviour and alleged abuses of dominant position.
Clients: Electrolux, Damen Shipyards Group, Roche, Generali Holding, Penta Investments, Eli Lilly, Servier, Orange.
Contact: Paul Buta, deputy managing partner (paul.buta@musat.ro)

RESTRUCTURING AND INSOLVENCY: covers pharmaceuticals, real estate, oil and gas, maritime technology, transportation, and construction.
Clients: First Bank, Aegean Airlines, Damen Shipyards Group, Termoelectrica, Sermedic, ECE Projektmanagement International GmbH, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, Chloe Acquisition Consulting, Gordian Holdings, PVS International (S) PTE. LTD.
Contact: Mihai Popa, partner (mihai.popa@musat.ro)

TAXATION: advises on structuring in a wide range of corporate and financial transactions and fiscal matters.
Clients: Amazon, Emerson, Servier, SABMiller, Sermedic, Universal Music.
Contact: Razvan Graure, partner (razvan.graure@musat.ro)

HEALTHCARE AND PHARMA: counsels on M&A, restructurings and reorganisations, regulatory, competition and compliance-related advisory work.
Clients: Eli Lilly, Servier, Abbott, Lundbeck, Novartis, Astellas Pharma.
Contacts: Paul Buta, deputy managing partner (paul.buta@musat.ro); Dan Minoiu, partner (dan.minoiu@musat.ro)

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: experienced in acquisition, development, implementation, enforcement, licensing and other exploitation of IP rights, as well as in patent, trademark, and copyright regulatory matters.
Clients: Deutsche Telekom, ZTE, L’Oréal, Blue Air, Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, Apple.
Contact: Paul Buta, deputy managing partner (paul.buta@musat.ro)

TRANSPORT: advises on trade and transport of goods by sea, road and air, such as sale/purchase, charter, cargo insurance, recovery, arrest, execution, cargo, and freight claims.
Clients: CAF, Tip Trailer, China Gezhouba, Aerovista.
Contact: Iulian Popescu, partner (iulian.popescu@musat.ro)

Sponsored firm focus: Focus on Matouk Bassiouny UAE

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Sponsored firm focus: Focus on Matouk Bassiouny UAE

Office 601, Maze Tower, Sheik Zayed Road, Dubai, UAE

T: +(971) 4289 2195 | E: dubaiinfo@matoukbassiouny.com | W: www.matoukbassiouny.com

Practice areas: Corporate and M&A, capital markets, dispute resolution, and finance and projects

Firm profile

Matouk Bassiouny is a leading, full-service MENA law firm with offices in Algiers, Algeria (Matouk Bassiouny in association with SH-Avocats), Cairo, Egypt (Matouk Bassiouny & Hennawy), Abu Dhabi and Dubai, UAE (Matouk Bassiouny) and Khartoum, Sudan (Matouk Bassiouny in association with AIH Law Firm), as well as a country desk covering our Libya practice. Our four offices are strategically located to better serve our clients’ business interests across the entire MENA region.

Our team of over 200 lawyers specialises in advising multinationals, corporations, financial institutions and governmental entities on all legal aspects of investing and doing business in the MENA region.

Trained both locally and internationally in civil and common law systems, our lawyers are deeply ingrained with international best practices and are fully conversant in English, Arabic and French.

Our firm collectively has access to a vast amount of knowledge and experience. We harness this knowledge via our 16 sector-focused groups that support our practice groups. We are therefore able to deliver legal services catered to the industry-specific needs of our clients. Our mission is to find the most innovative and cost-effective solutions for our clients, as we understand that our clients need to drive maximum value from their legal spending. We do this by maintaining a proactive commercial approach to all our legal services.

Team profile

Matouk Bassiouny established its Dubai location in 2018, and since then has quickly established itself as one of the leading local law firms in the UAE. Led by our UAE office managing partner, Jirayr Habibian, our lawyers are experts in advising on all aspects of UAE law. Our Dubai and Abu Dhabi offices are well placed to provide local legal support across the GCC.

We advise both local and international companies on a full range of issues from contentious and non-contentious corporate and commercial matters.

At a glance: Matouk Bassiouny UAE

Headcount: 200+ lawyers, 24 partners, 100+ support staff

Offices: Algiers, Algeria; Abu Dhabi, UAE; Cairo, Egypt; Dubai, UAE; Khartoum, Sudan

Key clients: CDC Group, Uber, Etisalat Misr, Pfizer, LafargeHolcim, Lekela Power, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Development Partners International, Hassan Allam, Hilton

Sponsored briefing: Recovery and Resilience Plan and labour market reform; Greece’s pathway to sustainable growth and investment attraction

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Sponsored briefing: Recovery and Resilience Plan and labour market reform; Greece’s pathway to sustainable growth and investment attraction

Karatzas & Partners’ Angeliki Tsatsi and Christos Paraskevopoulos on the recovery measures in Greece in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic

After almost a decade of deep recession and while being at the verge of sustainable recovery Greece faced the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly adverse for an economy where tourism contributes to a very large part of its GDP. Following the global paradigm of using expansionary monetary and fiscal policy as the primary tool to tackle the Covid-19 economic shock the European Union (EU)adopted, among others, the NextGenerationEU recovery plan. Greece was among the first EU member states to seize the opportunity and to submit its national Recovery and Resilience Plan, the so-called Greece 2.0, for the European Commission’s assessment, as part of the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, the heart of NextGenerationEU. Greece’s plan was approved in June 2021 and consists of €17.8bn in grants and €12.7bn in loans, a total financing of €30.5bn towards a green transition, digitalisation and improvement of the business environment. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Recovery and Resilience Plan and labour market reform; Greece’s pathway to sustainable growth and investment attraction”