Sterling Law

Commercial/Corparate Department

Senior Partner, Senior Solicitor

Michael Iatsukha is a UK-qualified solicitor and Senior Partner at Sterling Law, specialising in complex corporate and commercial matters for tech, fintech and high-growth businesses. He advises founders, investors, and established companies on structuring, fundraising, regulatory compliance, and risk management, with a particular focus on cross-border disputes, sanctions, and banking issues.

Key corporate and commercial law services include:

Set up a company in the UK — full support with choice of structure, incorporation, governance and ongoing company law compliance.​

Partnership Agreement — drafting and negotiation of tailored partnership and LLP agreements for co-founders and professional practices.​

Debt recovery — high‑value commercial debt claims, strategy, and enforcement in the High Court and County Courts.​

Shareholders agreement — protection of investor and founder rights, exit mechanisms and corporate governance frameworks.​

IP Law — protection and exploitation of intellectual property for tech and digital businesses.​

FCA Authorisation Application Assistance — support with authorisation and ongoing requirements for regulated financial and fintech firms.​

Compliance law — policies, procedures and training to align business operations with UK regulatory and compliance standards.​

Dealing with Frozen Bank Accounts — challenging freezes, AFOs and related banking restrictions in complex, sanctions-sensitive scenarios.​

Current roles

Senior Partner and Senior Solicitor at Sterling Law, focusing on commercial litigation, corporate disputes, and cross-border matters involving sanctions and fraud.​

Co-founder of CaseCraft AI, a generative AI-powered platform that helps individuals file and defend small claims in England and Wales, improving access to justice by automating documents, procedures, and deadlines.​

Co-founder of Aqlo, a legal and accounting support platform for businesses, providing integrated advisory services to help companies launch, grow, and scale.​

Notable experience

Michael has acted in some of the most complex commercial disputes before the High Court and Court of Appeal, often involving multi-jurisdictional issues, allegations of fraud and the impact of UK sanctions regimes. He routinely advises founders, investors and established businesses on structuring, financing and risk management.

Selected cases

Represented the Mints family in the high-profile civil litigation PJSC National Bank Trust & Anor v Mints & Ors before the High Court of England and Wales, one of the most complex commercial disputes in the UK, involving intricate cross-border issues and the application of UK sanctions.​

Successfully obtained a Norwich Pharmacal Order to trace and recover £630,000 misappropriated in a property fraud, compelling a bank to disclose critical information and enabling the client to identify the fraudster and pursue recovery.​

Acted in Drelle v Servis-Terminal LLC EWCA Civ 62, where the Court of Appeal set aside a High Court judgment and dismissed a bankruptcy petition, confirming that an unrecognised foreign judgment cannot form the basis of bankruptcy proceedings in England and Wales.​

Acted in a Commercial Court claim arising from a loan agreement connected to the acquisition of several Kazakhstani agricultural companies, including allegations of illegality under Kazakhstani law.​

Handled multiple high-value debt recovery matters, including the recovery of unpaid debts of around £1m through commercial litigation strategies.​

Represented clients in disputes with financial institutions, including proceedings and pre-action work to unfreeze accounts; in a recent case, secured the release and transfer of approximately USD 93,848 after issuing a pre-action letter to a digital bank.

English/Ukranian/Russian