About

Elsamawal Abdulhadi Idris is a highly proficient lawyer, with more than twenty years of diverse experience, with a special focus on banking and finance (both Islamic and conventional), corporate and commercial law and commercial arbitration.  

As a chief legal officer, Elsamawal Abdulhadi Idris has led teams of counsel to close a landmark merger between two major banks in Oman, whereby HSBC Bank Oman SAOG was merger with and into Sohar International Bank SAOG, creating the second largest bank in Oman. Elsamawal has drafted and implemented clear legal strategies that support and enable business strategy and growth objectives, and consistently built and maintained strong teams, strong relationships with all stakeholders and served as a trusted business advisor who proactively engages management and the board around strategic business issues. He has also efficiently provided, and procured provision of, full legal services and support to businesses on a broad range of contentious and noncontentious matters. 

As a company secretary, Elsamawal has ensured compliance with corporate governance regulations and standards as well as constitutional documents and relevant terms of reference; organised and attended board, shareholders and board sub-committee meetings; acted as a point of communication between the boards and other stakeholders; organised, prepared agendas for, and took minutes of all types of meetings; prepared, organised and arranged for board and directors’ evaluations; liaised with regulators, external lawyers, consultants and auditors; drafted and ensured timely regulatory disclosures to the capital market authority; and developed and supervised implementation of policies and procedures to improve efficiency and ensure compliance with regulatory and business requirements. 

As compliance officer, Elsamawal supervised all activities relating to sanctions, AML/TF, KYC, regulatory and FATCA, co-coordinated the annual examinations of the Central Bank and performed other reporting and disclosure activities and requirements of the regulators, in a timely manner. 

As a lawyer in private practice. Elsamawal advised and represented clients in before courts and arbitration tribunals, drafted, reviewed, and negotiated all types of contracts and agreements, pleadings and court memoranda in Arabic and English.