Afzal Ali

Partner

Afzal’s main areas of practice include complex corporate and commercial litigation and international arbitration. Afzal has also been involved in various high-profile corporate investigations.

Afzal has a particular focus and extensive experience acting on shareholder and joint venture disputes, share and business acquisition disputes, trust and fiduciary related disputes, high net-worth banking disputes, IT and technology disputes and libel claims. Afzal has also acted on employment matters, including contentious terminations and misappropriation of trade secrets by employees. He has appeared as lead counsel on significant matters in the General Division of the High Court, Appellate Division and in the Court of Appeal.

On the investigations front, Afzal has acted on complex investigations related to money laundering, misappropriations and whistleblowing reports, involving several high-profile corporations and wealth funds.

Afzal represents a wide variety of clients, including financial institutions, multinational corporations, listed companies, statutory boards and public healthcare institutions.

Specifically on IT and technology matters, Afzal has a cybersecurity practice where he has advised victims of cyberattacks and represented clients in relation to regulatory investigations arising out of data exfiltration.

Afzal graduated from the National University of Singapore with an LL.B. (First Class) in 2014. He won many academic prizes including for Contract Law, Tort Law, Company law and Equity & Trusts. Afzal graduated from New York University with an LL.M. in 2014, having pursued an LL.B. and LL.M. concurrently.

Prior to joining Allen & Gledhill in 2017, Afzal was a deputy public prosecutor with the Attorney General’s Chambers and subsequently a justices’ law clerk to the Chief Justice and judges of the Singapore Supreme Court. In 2020, he was appointed and appeared before the Singapore High Court as an amicus curiae. 

Work Highlights

  • Representing a professional trust company in a claim brought by the ex-Prime Minister of Georgia over a trust fund in excess of US$800 million.
  • Represented the majority shareholders in a shareholder dispute over a leading family-owned beverage manufacturer and distributor in Southeast Asia.
  • Representing an Indian conglomerate in arbitrations in the International Commercial Court and Singapore International Arbitration Centre in a dispute involving the manufacture and export of auto parts.
  • Representing a minority shareholder in a shareholder dispute relating to autonomous driving vehicles in the aviation industry.
  • Represented the administrators of a deceased’s estate involving assets valued at above S$200 million with assets in multiple jurisdictions, with contentious claims from various groups of beneficiaries.
  • Represented a professional trust company in claims brought by beneficiaries in the Singapore High Court for breach of trust.
  • Representing a foreign bank for claims over letters of credit issued in excess of US$100 million.
  • Acted for SingHealth in the Committee of Inquiry that was convened to investigate Singapore’s largest Cyberattack and ensuing data breach investigations (2018 – 2019).
  • Represented a statutory body in relation to judicial review proceedings alleging illegality and irrationality.
  • Represented a high frequency algorithmic trading firm in relation to misappropriation of trade secrets by a former consultant.
  • Represented a seller in a post-acquisition dispute related to the sale of shares in the synthetic food space.
  • Acted in investigations related to Singapore’s largest money laundering case.
  • Acted in asset tracing and recovery following fraud involving a large multi-national corporation.

Publications