One of the first ports of call for bet-the-company investigations in Asia Pacific, DLA Piper garners praise from clients for its ‘knowledge of compliance, sanctions, and antitrust laws in the region‘. The team fields first-class expertise in the full array of contentious regulatory and investigative processes, be it fraud, corruption, money laundering or trade issues, and particularly excels in crisis and media management, including internal compliance and employment law matters. The arrival of Hogan Lovells Lee & Lee‘s former practice head Maurice Burke, a leading dispute practitioner in this field, further reinforced the team’s capabilities in the investigations and white-collar crime space. Regulatory litigator Nathan Bush is the other key point of contact in the team; despite primarily focusing on antitrust law and competition, he has a wealth of experience in anti-corruption mandates, most notably matters involving China and the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

Morrison Foerster (Singapore) remains a go-to advisor for a breadth of clients, and possesses an impressive depth of knowledge across the spectrum of anti-corruption matters, as well as investigations, contentious enforcement and compliance. Benefitting from significant resources in Hong Kong, Mainland China and Tokyo, the Singapore-based team is well positioned to assist in a diverse range of multi-jurisdictional matters, including issues arising under anti-corruption laws in Asia, the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and UK Bribery Act. In addition, the team works in conjunction with the firm’s global privacy and data security department on privacy issues that typically arise in investigations, and collaborates with its market-leading national security practice on matters involving economic sanctions and export control matters. Rated for his ‘unparalleled knowledge of the APAC region’, Daniel Levison is a leading figure in the compliance and investigations space in Singapore. With over two decades’ experience in internal investigations, government investigations and regulatory proceedings across APAC, Levison, who spearheads the practice, ‘is able to seamlessly coordinate with US-based partners and local counsel to provide excellent service and advice’ on FCPA and other US legal and compliance issues. He receives key support from Sheryl Janet George, a former Deputy Public Prosecutor/State Counsel in the Criminal Justice Division, Financial and Technology Crime Division, who focuses on anti-corruption, corporate compliance and sanctions.

Norton Rose Fulbright fields a team in Singapore that is entirely devoted to regulatory compliance and investigations matters across the APAC region, and has a strong following of global corporations, regional companies, financial institutions and senior executives. Financial services, energy, infrastructure, tech and life sciences are core sector focuses for the department, which has notable strength in sensitive government-led and internal investigations, and disputes arising out of issues across the spectrum of financial crime and ethical misconduct. Additional expertise in cybersecurity and data privacy issues, sanctions and whistleblowing claims management is offered by the Asia regulatory compliance and investigations group, which is under the leadership of ‘outstanding practitioner‘ Wilson Ang. Besides his extensive experience in the design and implementation of compliance programmes, Ang is singled out for his track record in internal investigations, and matters involving modern slavery, human rights and anti-corruption matters throughout the region. Dual-qualified dispute resolution lawyer Jeremy Lua, who has a background in technology crime, is another name to note for complex regulatory investigations and compliance issues

Clients highlight Clifford Chance‘s ‘ability to draw on experts and resources in all the key APAC jurisdictions‘ as one of its key strengths. With extensive experience in investigations, fraud and corruption matters across the region, the group provides on-the-ground experience and cross-border advice to multinational clients engaged in investigations and disciplinary proceedings brought by the regulatory or criminal authorities across the region, including in countries like India, PRC, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and the Philippines, among others. Kabir Singh, who is singled out for his experience in cross-border disputes originating out of South East Asia and India, helms the department which is often retained by international companies, banks and financial institutions on regulatory and compliance investigations.

The Singapore-based investigations, white-collar and fraud practice at Hogan Lovells Lee & Lee works seamlessly with its global network of offices on behalf of multinationals and high-net-worth individuals in cross-border regulatory investigations and litigation. ‘Able to advise on difficult and complex issues‘, practitioners bring together expertise in bribery, corruption, modern slavery and due diligence in the context of transactions. Trade relations, particularly those with a Sino-American connection, are a key area of focus for the department. Nick Williams, whose work spans the Asia Pacific region, often acts for clients in dealing with regulators, and large bribery and corruption-related investigations. Khushaal Ved is another name to note for cross-border investigations, crisis leadership and litigation.