Oon & Bazul LLP

Litigation & Dispute Resolution, International Arbitration, Employment, Fraud & Asset Recovery, International Trade, Restructuring & Insolvency, Oil & Gas, White Collar Crime, Investigation

Partner, Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Lionel Chan is a Partner in the firm’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution Practice.

Lionel has extensive experience representing institutional and high net-worth clients in contentious matters. He has appeared as counsel before all levels of the Singapore courts, including as lead counsel in the Singapore High Court and Court of Appeal, and has acted for clients in both institutional and ad-hoc arbitrations. Lionel also has substantial experience acting in cases involving novel legal issues and facts.

He specializes in complex commercial dispute resolution matters (both litigation and arbitration) involving significant cross-border elements. He frequently works with clients based in China, Hong Kong SAR, India, the Middle East, Russia, Vietnam, and Singapore. His matters span a wide range of industries and sectors, and his practice areas include banking law, contractual claims, employment issues, international trade disputes, investment and joint venture disputes, shareholder disputes, trust law, and tort.

Lionel is 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 is part of the firm’s fraud and asset recovery team who recently assisted their bank client to secure a US$5 billion freezing order in Singapore (one of the largest seen by the Singapore Courts) 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.

He is also a member of the International Fraud Group, an elite network of leading international fraud and asset recovery law firms and legal practitioners.

He was also involved in securing what is likely the first ever persons unknown freezing injunction in Singapore in respect of a cryptocurrency fraud valued at more than US$77m.

Complementing his fraud and asset recovery specialisation, Lionel also has experience in white-collar criminal litigation. Lionel sat on the Law Society’s Criminal Practice Committee from 2013-2015. He also volunteers as defence counsel with the Law Society of Singapore’s Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (CLAS).

Notable Cases:

Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Acted for a British Virgin Island (“BVI”) entity based in Hong Kong SAR in a share pledge dispute involving a claim exceeding US$ 250 million relating to shares of a company listed on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ. Successfully secured a Mareva injunction in the Singapore High Court against the lender company and its manager / employee based on a claim for fraudulent misrepresentation and/or breach of contract. Also successfully resisted both an application by the defendants for a stay of court proceedings in favour of arbitration as well as an application for a Tomolugen case-management stay. Acting for the Singapore subsidiaries of one of the world’s largest marine energy transportation, storage, and production businesses listed on the New York Stock Exchange against one of China’s largest shipbuilders in respect of a pre-action discovery application relating to certain EPC contracts for vessels valued at approximately US$ 180 million. Acting for a major bank in a Singapore High Court action against a corporate guarantor of the bank’s borrower in a claim valued at over US$ 30 million involving interesting legal issues relating to forum shopping, the defence of illegality, and the enforceability of certain “no set-off” clauses in the corporate guarantee by the Singapore Courts. Acting for a major Vietnamese mobile content distribution and media services company in a multi-million-dollar international M&A arbitration dispute with their Korean counterparts before a three-member Tribunal. The case involves interesting conflict of laws issues as well as issues relating to the attribution of the criminal acts and knowledge of a company’s key management personnel to a company.

Fraud & Asset Recovery

Secured a US$ 5 billion Mareva injunction as well as a sealing order on behalf of one of the largest banks in Central Asia in respect of a massive fraud perpetrated by the bank’s former chairman and by other individuals and entities associated with the bank’s former chairman. The Mareva injunction secured in Singapore is one of the largest seen by the Singapore Courts and was 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. Successfully recovered 1,400 bitcoins (worth then about US$77 million) in a case that is likely to be the largest cryptocurrency recovery claim brought in Singapore. Secured a worldwide Mareva injunction against persons unknown  to prevent asset dissipation of assets. We also obtained third-party discovery (i.e. Norwich Pharamacal / Bankers Trust orders) from the cryptocurrency exchange, its related entities, and its representatives. We also secured what is likely the first ever Bankers Trust Order against a foreign disclosure respondent in Singapore. Successfully acted in obtaining a Mareva injunction in the Singapore High Court against two ex-employees of a Russian company and certain BVI entities controlled by these ex-employees based on information obtained from the online ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database. The action relates to a Russian company’s recovery claim for corrupt commission payments made by its commercial counterparties to the Singapore bank accounts of the Russian company’s two ex-employees and the BVI entities controlled by them. Acted for a Middle Eastern national bank in the Singapore High Court involving claims valued at over US$14 million against defendants who had perpetrated an elaborate 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 assisted the bank to obtain partial recovery through enforcement proceedings to seize gold bars belonging to the defendants. Acted for a Canadian-incorporated company to secure a US$3.9 million Mareva order against the Singapore bank account of a Hong Kong incorporated company as part of a worldwide Bitcoin sale and purchase fraud involving parties from various jurisdictions including Canada, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong SAR, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Awards & Accolades:

Singapore Business Review recognized Lionel as one of Singapore’s top 20 lawyers aged 40 and under. Legal 500 Asia Pacific highlights Lionel as a name to note for his work in Dispute Resolution. Lionel has been commended in Asialaw Profiles for displaying outstanding client service. Clients praised him for his “good knowledge of Singapore law” and commended Lionel for being “very hard-working and patient”.

English, Mandarin

Singapore Academy of Law, Law Society of Singapore, International Fraud Group

LLB (NUS, Singapore)