2022 Webinar: The Complex Issues and Risks of Exchange Control in Africa and the Middle East

The Africa and Middle East Regional Group hosted a complimentary webinar on November 30, 2022, from  9:00 am – 1030 am Central Time titled “The Complex Issues and Risks of Exchange Control in Africa and the Middle East.”

Click HERE to view the webinar recording.

Webinar Materials:

• Webinar PowerPoint
• Webinar Agenda

About the Webinar:

Most European and North American economies have evolved in the past 30 years from exchange control to free trade, globalization and liberalization. As a result, many of us have not had to advise clients or deal with the possible impact of exchange control on business. This webinar will shed some light on this very important topic from various jurisdictions within Africa and the Middle East.

Moderator:

BOMA AYOMIDE ALABI is a founding partner of ALFA International member firm Primera Africa Legal in Lagos, Nigeria. She has 30 years of corporate commercial practice experience. In addition to being an experienced arbitrator and accredited civil and commercial mediator, Boma specializes in international tax law, maritime law, mergers & acquisitions and capital market transactions. She has advised on some of Nigeria’s leading commercial deals in a number of sectors, including real estate and infrastructure, manufacturing, banking, hospitality, telecommunications, maritime, energy, project funding and development.

Panelists

LAURA ALAKIJA is the managing partner and head of Commercial Dispute (Arbitration and ADR) and Commercial Transactions at Primera Africa Legal, ALFA International’s member firm in Lagos, Nigeria. Laura has over 15 years of post-call experience with expertise in the disparate yet connected fields of dispute resolution and transactions. She has sector-specific experience in hospitality, energy and natural resources, project finance, transport, real estate & infrastructure and information & communications technology. Laura is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, United Kingdom, an accredited mediator of the Lagos Multi-Door Courthouse and a certified online dispute resolution expert. She is a member of the Panel of Neutrals for the Lagos Court of Arbitration, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Shanghai Arbitrators Commission and Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration. Laura is an active member of the international arbitration community serving as a member of the ICC Africa Commission and member of the Advisory Board of the Lagos Court of Arbitration Young Arbitrators’ Network (LCA YAN), among other positions and memberships. She served as the ICC YAF Representative for Africa, the Middle East and Turkey from 2019 to 2021.

OFFEIBEA ASANTE is an associate with Sam Okudzeto & Associates, the ALFA International member firm in Accra, Ghana. She was admitted to the Ghana Bar in 2019. Her areas of focus are civil litigation, corporate advisory and commercial practice. She has experience in labour and employment litigation and has participated in trials covering employment and dismissal disputes, land, estates and commercial disputes. She has been significantly involved in the litigation of debt recovery claims, defamation actions and out-of-court settlement proceedings. She also has significant experience with labor negotiations, drafting and reviewing commercial transactions and corporate regulatory and compliance matters. Her recent work includes preparing legal processes for Court, writing legal opinions, due diligence and compliance monitoring, as well as drafting and reviewing contracts and other commercial agreements. Offeibea is a member of the Ghana Bar Association, holding an LLB from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. She has completed training with the Leitner Center for International Law and Justice, the Open Society Initiative for West Africa and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). She also has training in ADR and company secretarial services and brings an independent, competent and results-oriented approach to her work environment. Her years of pre-call training have given her an astute perspective of the legal landscape and a sharp and observant instinct for identifying the ultimate best interest of her client and pursuing it relentlessly.

MOHAMED BENHYCH is a licensed CPA and an internationally experienced, senior finance professional with over 10 years in the oil and gas industry with Maghreb Petroleum Exploration, PetroMaroc, Sound Energy and others. He is the Founder & Owner of Diligor in Kenitra, Morocco.

ALEKSANDRA BURR-DIXON is a director of ALFA International member firm Knowles Husain Lindsay Inc. in Johannesburg. Aleksandra specializes in corporate and commercial law. She regularly advises clients on both the practicalities and intricacies of company law and on clients’ corporate structures and constitutional documents. She also assists clients with their commercial transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, financing and security transactions and a wide spectrum of commercial arrangements.

YUVRAJ JUWAHEER is the managing partner of YKJ Legal, ALFA International’s member firm in the Republic of Mauritius. He was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple in London and is a member of the Society of Trusts and Estate Practitioners, an associate of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators and a member of the International Fiscal Association. Yuvraj has more than 20 years of experience in the global business sector in Mauritius. He has extensive experience in investment funds, corporate and commercial law, regulatory matters and banking and finance.

MU’AWIYA YUNUSA is an associate partner with Primera Africa Legal, ALFA International’s member firm in Abuja, Nigeria. Mu’awiya is a project finance, Islamic finance and dispute resolution enthusiast with specialties in core financing, Islamic finance, legal & regulatory compliance and estate planning. He has led various legal advisory projects advising top-tier corporations on key transactions ranging from project finance to mergers and acquisitions. He possesses an uncommon knack for solving complex legal issues. Over the years, he has developed capacity in corporate transactions such as the issuance of bonds, capital raising, project financing, due diligence, asset tracing and legal advisory and company secretariat services. He possesses excellent interpersonal and motivational skills. He has extensive experience in mentoring staff and the ability to coordinate multidisciplinary teams across field and office locations.