Attorney Yaqoub Abdul Mohsen Al-Sanea & Partners Advocates and Legal Consultants

Corporate

Senior Legal Counsel

Partner & Chief Legal Officer.
M&A, FinTech & Regulatory Affairs | International Arbitration | PPP.

Senior Executive, Board Advisor, and Lead Counsel with over two decades of dual-jurisdictional (Common Law & Civil Law) experience across MEA, GCC, and European markets. Trusted by international financial institutions, multinationals, and market-shaping ventures to navigate high-stakes transactions, complex project financings, and cross-border regulatory environments.

A proven strategist in bridging commercial ambitions with institutional governance, serving as a direct regulatory liaison to central banks, financial authorities, and antitrust bodies. My practice combines deep expertise in corporate oversight and regulatory compliance with a distinguished record as lead arbitration counsel before global tribunals.

Core Practice Pillars.
-Regulatory Affairs & Financial Services Governance: Architecting institutional compliance frameworks and securing approvals for FinTech, EMI, and Insurtech platforms from Seed to Series A. Direct liaison experience before the CBs, FRA, CITRA, CIMA, SAMA, and regional antitrust authorities.
-Transactions, PPP & Project Finance: Strategic counsel on multi-billion-dollar M&A, Sukuk structuring, IPOs, and infrastructure project finance (P3/FIDIC) across Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, and broader EMEA.
-International Arbitration & Complex Disputes: Lead Counsel practice spanning ICC, LCIA, ICSID, CRCICA, and LMAA proceedings, with a consistent record in high-value cross-border disputes from strategy through enforcement.
-Boardroom Advisory & CLO Leadership: Guiding Boards, Presidents, and Exe.Com on full corporate oversight, risk, ESG, governance, and post-mergers.

Career Highlights
-Regional General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer (Chubb): Spearheaded regional legal and compliance strategy, achieving zero non-conformance over seven consecutive audit cycles and securing a 100% litigation success rate on claims exceeding USD 30M.
-Partner (DLA Piper & Practice Leadership): Advised sovereigns and MNCs on landmark capital market transactions, debt issuances, PPP infrastructure projects, and strategic M&A exceeding USD 1B+.
-Advised government agencies and antitrust authorities on market regulatory reform.

Core Areas of Expertise:
·  Regulatory Affairs & Compliance·
·  Cross-Border M&A - Capital Markets.
. Institutional Transformation.
·  International Arbitration.
·  Litigation Management.
·  Corporate Governance.
·  FinTech, Insurtech & Digital Banking·
·  Islamic Finance & Sharia Governance.

Arabic, English, French, Spanish

• Attorney and Counsellor, Egyptian Bar Association, admitted in 2000

• International Federation of Compliance Associations

Leiden University College The Hague - Doctor of Arts, International Dispute Resolution & Arbitration (Sep 2023 – 2025)

Swinburne University of Technology - Master of Arts - MA, Compliance & Risk Management
"Activities and societies: International Federation of Compliance Associations (IFCA)"

Australian Compliance Institute - Education and Professional Development

NAT Cert. IV GCRM Governance, Compliance & Risk Management, International Law and Legal Studies

New York Institute of Finance - FCT Financial Mathematics, Mathematics

Cairo University - Bachelor of Laws - LLB, law