Oon & Bazul LLP

Litigation & Dispute Resolution, International Arbitration, Fraud & Asset Recovery, Restructuring & Insolvency, International Trade, Shipping, Insurance & Reinsurance, Oil & Gas, Sanctions & Regulatory Compliance, Investigations, India Practice

Managing Partner, Head of Dispute Resolution

Bazul Ashhab is the firm’s Managing Partner and Head of Dispute Resolution  leading its Litigation and the International Arbitration Practice Areas.

Bazul is a leading dispute resolution practitioner in Singapore and the region.

Recognized as an expert in Court Litigation, International Arbitration and Cross Border Mediation.

Bazul Ashhab is the firm’s Managing Partner and Head of Dispute Resolution leading its Litigation and the International Arbitration Practice Areas.

He focuses on commercial law and gets regular instructions involving company law, international trade, banking, trade finance, shareholders’ disputes, insurance, insolvency, shipping, derivative actions, fraud and asset recovery.

His clients have described him as a “spectacular lawyer” who is “incredibly bright and knowledgeable” with “astonishing speed and strategy”.

He acts for very high-net-worth individuals and their companies, banks, financial institutions, and trading houses, as well as listed and private companies in various matters across the region. He has acted for clients from various jurisdictions in their disputes in the Asia Pacific region and beyond.

His many years of managing disputes in the region has given him the ability to combine his legal expertise with cultural considerations and knowledge of the lay of the land to provide effective and practical solutions to resolve complex disputes.

Bazul is also highly experienced in fraud and asset recovery claims and is a specialist in securing freezing and disclosure orders to trace, preserve, and recover assets. He led the firm’s fraud and asset recovery team to successfully secure a US$5 billion freezing order in Singapore (one of the largest seen by the Singapore Courts) as part of a coordinated effort to simultaneously obtain freezing orders in jurisdictions across the world.

Bazul was also appointed as an Ambassador to the Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC) panel. This appointment is a recognition of his leadership in alternative dispute resolution in Singapore and the Asia Pacific region.

SIMC Ambassadors play a vital role in ensuring SIMC’s users have access to high quality dispute resolution services; represent SIMC at various events around the world, and are seen as experts and thought leaders in the area of mediation.

Bazul firmly believes in giving back to society and social mobility and the firm and he consistently provides financial assistance to needy students.

Notable Cases:

Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Acted for a bank in arguing against the inclusion of a provision to discharge a guarantee issued to the bank in a scheme of arrangement. Arguments put forward on behalf of the bank resulted in a voluntary settlement by the guarantor during the second day of the hearing. Advised in an employment fraud matter involving a state-owned company, involving amounts exceeding US$700 million. Advised commodity traders in a matter where one of their traders was involved in earning secret profits in the sum of several millions of dollars. The matter involved proceedings being initiated in multiple jurisdictions, including injunctions commenced and tracing remedies obtained in Indonesia, India, Hong Kong, UAE, and the Philippines. Defended a bank in an action brought by a Chinese state-owned company, in a dispute arising from the bank having been named as consignees in a bill of lading. Developed arguments with the assistance of Chinese lawyers to successfully dismiss the claim in the first instant court and the Chinese Court of Appeal. Acted for aircraft owners against an African national airline, in a dispute over the breach of a leasing agreement involving sums exceeding US$37 million. Successfully obtained an anti-suit injunction in New York to restraint the African national airline from commencing an action in its home country, and obtained an order for the African national airline to arbitrate the dispute in New York instead. Acted successfully for a large Japanese trading house in an SIAC arbitration to recover full losses arising from a quality dispute. There were interesting arguments raised on issues of consequential damages and the remoteness of damage. Acted successfully for an Indian shipowner in a Singapore arbitration against Singaporean charterers, where the vessel was detained in Iraq during the civil unrest just after the American occupation. The matter raised interesting arguments on when a port would be considered unsafe. Acted for charterers in a London arbitration over a dispute involving vessels not complying with PSPC regulations for claims in the region of US$120 million. Acting for various regional and international energy trading companies on misdelivery claims exceeding US$230 million. Successful in obtaining unconditional leave to defend in several actions proceeding before the Singapore Courts, including (i) The Miracle Hope (unreported), (ii) Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) Ltd v Maersk Tankers Singapore Pte Ltd (Winson Oil Trading Pte Ltd, intervener) [2022] SGHC 242, and (iii) The “STI Orchard” (Winson Oil Trading Pte Ltd, intervener) [2022] SGHCR 6, which has been affirmed on appeal (unreported). Successfully acted for bunker barge owners to defeat a misdelivery claim in the landmark decision of The “Luna” and another appeal [2021] SGCA 84. The Singapore Court of Appeal held that documents labelled “bills of lading” issued by local bunker barge operators were not true bills of lading that evidenced contracts of carriage or functioned as documents of title. Acted for a Chinese shipowner in attempting to resist a US$8 million claim by a financial institution for misdelivery of cargo. The case involved novel issues on ‘spent’ bills of lading and interpretation of the Singapore Bills of Lading Act. The case is reported in The “Yue You 902” [2019] SGHC 106. Acting for a trade finance bank in pursuing recovery actions against Hin Leong Trading Pte Ltd and its associated entities in respect of the bank’s exposure under trade financing agreements. The matter involves allegations of fraud and involves exposure of approximately US$3.85 billion to 23 banks.

Fraud & Asset Recovery

Secured the first “persons unknown” Mareva injunction in Singapore relating to the theft of over US$70m worth of cryptocurrency from a cryptocurrency wallet as part of a sophisticated cyber-attack. Disclosure orders, gagging orders, and sealing orders were also secured against a leading cryptocurrency exchange where the stolen cryptocurrency was traced to. Secured a US$5 billion Mareva injunction for one of the largest Central Asia Bank in respect of an industrial-scale fraud perpetrated by the bank’s former chairman and various individuals and entities associated to him. This is one of the largest freezing orders granted by the Singapore Courts and was obtained as part of a co-ordinated effort to simultaneously obtain freezing orders in jurisdictions across the world including the UK, Hong Kong SAR, Luxembourg, and Cyprus. Acted for a large Middle Eastern bank in a claim valued at over US$14 million against defendants who had perpetrated a brazen fraud by incorporating various companies to impersonate entities related to multinational oil majors such as British Petroleum and Total in order to induce the bank to extend trade credit facilities. Mareva injunctions were successfully secured against the defendants. We also successfully assisted the bank to obtain partial recovery through enforcement proceedings to seize gold bars belonging to the defendants. Acted for a Canadian company to secure a US$3.9 million Mareva order in Singapore in respect of a cross-border cryptocurrency fraud involving parties from jurisdictions including Canada, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong SAR, Malaysia, and Singapore. Acted for a Singapore company to secure a Mareva injunction to freeze the assets of both the company and its director / shareholder in respect of a commodities trading fraud which claim is worth more than US$1.9m. Successfully acted on behalf of a leading coal trading company to take out an injunction before the Singapore Courts to stop payment on a Letter of Credit based on a fraud committed by the Indonesian shippers.

Oil & Gas

Acted in 5 ad-hoc relating to offshore oil and gas disputes for total quantum in excess of USD300 million against an Indian national oil and gas company governed under Indian law governed in ad-hoc arbitration. Issues involved delay, defects, variation orders, change orders in Mumbai and Delhi. Resolved a dispute relating to offshore construction related dispute governed under Mexico Law against a Houston based offshore services company operating in Mexico. Mexican law governed in negotiations in Houston. Acted for a Singapore-listed company in Malaysia in several claims against Oil Majors and Malaysia conglomerate for amount exceeding USD100 million.

Awards & Accolades:

Chambers Asia Pacific describes Bazul as an “exceptional lawyer” who “brings a London-style approach to local matters” and as someone who “always understands immediately what the client wants to achieve and goes after it in the most efficient way possible”. Chambers Global & Asia Pacific ranks Bazul as a Recognised Practitioner for his work in Shipping Litigation. Legal 500 Asia Pacific describes Bazul as one of Singapore’s leading lawyers who is admired by clients to be a  “spectacular lawyer” who is “incredibly bright and knowledgeable” with “astonishing speed and strategy”. He is commended for his ability to “combine legal knowledge with commercial acumen.” He is also acclaimed as being “exceptional at crisis management” and having “a very keen mind”. The publication also noted that Bazul “handles complex, high-value claims” and that clients respect him for his “quick intellect and grasp for material issues”. Legal 500 Asia Pacific recognises him as a Leading Individual in the area of Shipping. Benchmark Litigation Asia Pacific recommends Bazul as a Dispute Resolution Star in Commercial & Transactions, International Arbitration and Shipping. Asian Legal Business honoured Bazul with the “Singapore Managing Partner of the Year” award at the prestigious Asian Legal Business (ALB) Southeast Asia Law Awards 2018. Asia Business Law Journal ranks Bazul as one of Singapore’s top 100 lawyers. Asialaw Leading Lawyers recognises Bazul as an Elite Practitioner for his work in Shipping. The title is defined by the publication as a true leader of the field, has an outstanding track record and recognised as the standout performers in the country or practice area. Bazul was featured in a Global Restructuring Review (GRR) article titled “Names to know in Singapore” and mentioned alongside prominent figures in the Singapore legal industry.

English

Chairman, Promotion Committee, Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration (SCMA)

Member, India Sub-Committee, Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration (SCMA)

Vice President, The Maritime Law Association of Singapore (MLAS)

Chairperson, Publication Subcommittee, The Maritime Law Association of Singapore (MLAS)

Member, Civil Practice Committee, Law Society of Singapore

Specialist Mediator, Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC)

Ambassador, SCMA-SIMC Maritime Mediator Panel

Chairperson, Review Committee, The Law Society of Singapore

Member, International Bar Association

Advocate & Solicitor (Singapore), Barrister-at-Law (Lincoln's Inn)