Nawaz is rated by Chambers and Legal 500 as a Restructuring & Insolvency and litigation lawyer in Singapore. Nawaz’s fellow professionals and clients have described him as “incredibly user-friendly” and a “hands-on partner” who “provides sound and commercial legal advice in complex restructuring and insolvency and litigation matters”.
Nawaz has 15 years of experience dealing with complex litigation, business advisory and restructuring matters. Nawaz advises and acts for all stakeholder groups involved in cross-border stressed/distressed and contentious situations. He regularly acts for insolvency practitioners such as liquidators, judicial managers, receivers and restructuring advisors in various litigation, asset recovery and arbitration matters.
As part of his litigation practice, Nawaz has acted as lead counsel in the Singapore High Court and the Singapore Court of Appeal across a broad range of corporate and commercial disputes.
Nawaz also regularly assists elite international firms as instructed Singapore counsel in R&I and litigation briefs; Nawaz works closely with leading lawyers globally on these matters. These briefs include advising financial institutions, funds or asset managers in various creditor protection measures and solutions.
Running an independent and conflict-free practice, Nawaz acts for and advises businesses and their founder/owners in distressed or litigious situations. He has guided leading businesses and their management teams as Singapore counsel in multi-jurisdiction restructurings, judicial managements or consensual and commercial solutions.
Selected Cases
- Acted for a Cayman Island venture capitalist fund in the recovery of various outstanding amounts arising from syndicated loan transactions over US$50 million, which involved the enforcement of a share charge, obtaining summary judgments against the corporate and personal guarantors, resisting SIAC proceedings by the debtor, resisting certain reliefs sought by the debtor during a UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency recognition application. This case was reported in Re Rooftop Group International Ltd and another (Triumphant Gold Ltd and another, non-parties) [2019] SGHC 280. The decision may be accessed at https://www.elitigation.sg/gdviewer/s/2019_SGHC_280.
- Acted for Agritrade Resources Limited, a Hong Kong listed company, in various recovery actions in Singapore, India and Hong Kong, as well as in a global debt restructuring exercise of over S$450 million across the Courts in Bermuda, Hong Kong and Singapore. This restructuring is related to the widely publicized collapse of the Agritrade group in Singapore which led to the issuance of a related Court of Appeal decision in Rothstar Group Ltd v Leow Quek Shiong and other appeals [2022] SGCA 25. The decision may be accessed at https://www.elitigation.sg/gd/s/2022_SGCA_25.
- Acted for the Receivers and Managers (from Kroll) of the Yang Kee Logistics Group in successfully resisting various High Court court applications and also advising the Receivers and Managers on the various aspects of the operations and sale processes. One of the key High Court decisions for this matter may be accessed at https://www.elitigation.sg/gd/s/2023_SGHC_43
- Acting for the Judicial Managers (from Quantuma) of the Finlync group, a financial technology and payment services business, in the restructuring of the commercial verticals and assisting with recovery of claims and the adjudication of debts.
- Acting for the Judicial Managers (from Quantuma) of the Atom Asset Exchange group, which was once the 2nd large crypto exchange. This restructuring process is being managed in co-ordination with insolvency professionals and international firms from various jurisdictions including the Cayman Islands, Malta and Hong Kong.
- Acting for and advised the BVI liquidators of Six Capital Investments Limited in various recovery actions with respect to a debt of over US$143 million and in seeking and obtaining recognition of the BVI winding up proceedings in Singapore under the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency.
- Acting for the founders of the Ryobi construction group which undergoing a cross-border insolvency managed by PWC. This matter involves co-ordination with various firms such as Rajah & Tann and other firms in Asia.
- Acting for and advising The Working Capitol Group, a co-working and property management business in Singapore, in a debt restructuring exercise involving the evolving co-working space industry in Singapore. This restructuring further features a novel debt consolidation exercise of the Group’s debts amounting to approximately S$48 million and a pre-packed scheme proposed under Section 71 of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018.
- Acted for a major Chinese bank in a high-profile cross-border liquidation of a Singapore mainboard-listed company with over S$297 million in debts.
- Acted for an Indonesian businessman in the restructuring of his personal debts amounting to approximately US$240 million through a voluntary arrangement proposed pursuant to the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018.
- Acted as lead trial counsel and successfully defended a Singapore S$16 million claim in the High Court brought by the liquidator in relation to alleged breaches of directors’ duties owed by the individuals to the company.
- Acted for a major shareholder of Super Park Asia Group Pte Ltd in contentious provisional liquidation proceedings. The dispute was eventually heard by the Singapore Court of Appeal which issued a judgment Superpark Oy v Super Park Asia Group Pte Ltd & Ors [2021] SGCA 8. The decision may be accessed at https://www.elitigation.sg/gd/s/2021_SGCA_8.
- Acting for the Liquidators (from Ernst & Young) of Griffin Real Estate Investment Holdings in the recovery of an estimated S$35 million from the former directors of the company and in other recovery actions against third parties amounting to more than S$30 million.
- Acted for the Receivers and Managers (from Ernst & Young) of Airtrust (Singapore), an oil and gas pipe trading company, in a shareholders’ dispute and in a claim by the company against, inter alia, former directors for breaches of fiduciary duties and conspiracy against the company. Also advised the said Receivers and Managers in the performance of their duties as Court-Appointed Receivers and Managers. This matter eventually culminated in various related decisions including Lee Pei-Ru Alice and another v Airtrust (Singapore) Pte Ltd [2013] SGHC 259.This decision may be accessed at https://www.elitigation.sg/gd/s/2013_SGHC_259.
- Acted for Deribit, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, in the FTX and Babel Group cross-border crypto restructurings, where more than US$4 billion of debt across multiple jurisdictions where involved. This also involved resisting various Singapore High Court applications by the Babel group and working together with various internationals firms.
- Acted for a Binance entity in resisting various Singapore High Court applications filed by a NASDAQ listed cryptocurrency group which is going through a cross-border restructuring. This matter involved working with professionals from Alvarez & Marsal, Gibson Dunn, and Quantuma.
- Acted as lead counsel for a prominent bank in successfully resisting a cross-border restructuring filing in the Singapore High Court. This matter involved working with the Squires team in Sydney, who was instructing counsel for this urgent brief.
- Acted for the Receivers and Managers (from Ernst & Young) of a subsidiary of a listed company which was the developer and owner of a high-tech data centre in Singapore. Successfully concluded a sale of the data centre in satisfaction of the subsidiary’s debts and was involved in the drafting of the sale agreement and completion of the sale process. A High Court decision relating to this matter is reported at [2011] SGHC 58.
- Acted as lead counsel for a Silicon Valley based founder of the Unicorn tech conglomerates, in a shareholder dispute involving a Singapore High Court trial and proceedings in the US and India.
- Acted as lead counsel for two Taiwanese investors against directors of a Singapore company in fraudulent investment scam matter with a successful claim of S$4 million.
- Acted as lead counsel in a Pro Bono criminal matter where the accused, who was initially charged with importation of a Class A drug, was eventually given a significantly reduced charge of possession after representations to and negotiations with the prosecution.
