Kareena Teh

• Hong Kong seated arbitration under the Rules of the HKIAC acting for a consortium of investors arising from a dispute with a South Korean listed company concerning the acquisition of an online business.
• Hong Kong seated arbitrations under the Rules of the HKIAC acting for a Mainland China-based U.S.-listed online game operator concerning a joint venture agreement for the development and publication of online games. The case also involved the discharge of an interim injunction obtained by the counterparty pending arbitration.
• Multi-jurisdiction arbitration proceedings under the rules of the HKIAC and LCIA acting for a multi-national life science company involving disputes arising from a joint venture with a life science company based in Mainland China in connection with management of the joint venture, the promotion and distribution of products in Mainland China, and rights and obligations under the joint venture agreement and distribution agreement.
• Acting for a multinational company to obtain asset freezing orders and disclosure orders from the Hong Kong High Court in support of LCIA arbitration proceedings and related US court proceedings.

• Global technology leader and supplier to rail, mining and energy industries in Hong Kong High Court proceedings enforcing a substantial HKIAC arbitral award against a BVI holding company, its subsidiaries and their officers in various jurisdictions; successfully setting aside fraudulent transactions in Hong Kong and obtaining an order and warrant for committal for contempt, damages and indemnity costs.
• Global technology leader and supplier to rail, mining and energy industries in recognising a substantial HKIAC arbitral award in Mainland China and pursuing enforcement and civil proceedings in respect of the fraudulent transactions, running novel claims based on alter-ego arguments.
• U.S based investment fund in Hong Kong High Court proceedings in the U.S., Hong Kong and Singapore to enforce a U.S. judgment against a multi-national manufacturing conglomerate.
• Multinational company in Hong Kong High Court proceedings enforcing a substantial LCIA arbitral award, tracing assets and pursuing recovery actions.

Government, regulatory, internal investigations, and enforcement defence

‍

White Collar (US/Hong Kong/Mainland China)

• Publicly traded U.S. printing manufacturer based in Mainland China in investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission into alleged securities fraud arising from its financial statements.
• Publicly traded U.S. life science corporation based in Mainland China in U.S. Securities Exchange Commission investigations into alleged securities fraud and corruption.
• Publicly traded U.S. oil and gas corporation based in Mainland China in investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission into alleged securities fraud and corruption relating to its mining permits.
• Chinese oil and gas company on potential exposure under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the U.K. Bribery Act regarding alleged corruption relating to the award of exploration rights in Africa.
• Leading international mining group in relation to investigations in Hong Kong, Mainland China and Mongolia relating to allegations of corruption, fraud, and insider dealing, and responding to inquiries from U.S. and Canadian regulators.
• Former executive of a multinational financial services company in investigations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption into the company’s hiring practices.
• Major multinational trading corporation in relation to investigations in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Indonesia into possible fraud, corruption, smuggling, and money laundering issues.
• Acted (on secondment) as interim Asia Pacific compliance officer to a major multinational commodity trading group, setting up its governance and compliance framework following internal investigations and disclosures to the U.S. Department of Justice and Securities Exchange Commission.​

‍

White Collar (Hong Kong)

• Leading multinational safety equipment manufacturer in internal investigation into an alleged kick-back scheme between its Hong Kong and Mainland China supplier and its U.S. procurement team.
• Multinational medical devices company on aspects of Hong Kong’s anti-corruption and competition laws including application to specific sales practices adopted in relation to various medical institutions (both Government and privately owned) in Hong Kong.
• Multi-national corporations, financial institutions, fund managers, and law firms advising on money laundering issues including: liaised with government authorities in investigations and responding to search warrants and production orders; advised on disclosure obligations and prepared suspicious transaction reports; advised on information sharing and provision of assistance by local and overseas government authorities, including under the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance; advised on, setting up and implementing policies and procedures, including internal reporting procedures.

‍

White Collar (China)

• Multinational investment firm in investigations into allegations of market manipulation (arising from algorithmic and high-frequency trading), corruption, tax evasion and money laundering in the context of Mainland China’s stock market crash in mid-2015.
• Multinational pharmaceutical company in government and internal investigations relating to its marketing activities in Mainland China and assisted on labour claims arising therefrom.
• Multinational supplier of fresh produce in internal investigations arising out of alleged customs violations in Mainland China, evaluated risks, and advised on governance issues and internal controls.
• Multinational life science company on possible compliance issues in Mainland China relating to clinical trials.
• Multinational life science company on its bonus policies and their compliance with relevant anti-corruption laws, regulations, and pharmaceutical / healthcare industry guidelines.

‍

Regulatory (Hong Kong)

• Substantial licensed securities brokerage firm in Securities and Futures Commission investigations relating to its compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing obligations.
• Hong Kong licensed corporation in a Securities and Futures Commission investigation in relation to its algorithmic and high-speed trading.
• Former director of a Hong Kong-listed company in regulatory investigation into numerous allegations including breaches of disclosure requirements, provision of false and misleading information, and insider dealing under the Securities and Futures Ordinance arising from inter alia the operations of the company’s offshore subsidiaries.
• Former company secretary of a Hong Kong-listed company in regulatory investigation into numerous allegations including breaches of disclosure requirements, provision of false and misleading information, and insider dealing under the Securities and Futures Ordinance arising from inter alia the operations of the company’s offshore subsidiaries.
• Former director and CFO of a Hong Kong-listed company in relation to an investigation by The Hong Kong Stock Exchange Limited into into alleged breaches of fiduciary duties and the listing rules.
• Former executive director of Hong Kong listed company in relation to an investigation by The Hong Kong Stock Exchange Limited into alleged breach of fiduciary duties and duty of care and skill, and failure to adopt sufficient internal controls procedures in managing the company’s affairs.
• Hong Kong corporation on disclosure of litigation risks in relation to a Hong Kong initial public offering.
• Former foreign exchange trader of a leading global investment bank in relation to an internal investigation conducted by the bank in response to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s investigation into possible manipulation of foreign exchange benchmarks / rates, and suspected collusion among foreign exchange traders.

‍

Governance, regulatory and compliance counselling

• US listed consumer products company in relation to a substantial acquisition, analysed and advised on anti-corruption and anti-money laundering risks associated with the intended acquisition.
• US listed manufacturing company concerning post-acquisition integration of Mainland China based targets, conducted an internal review of its business operations and internal controls, advised on compliance risks and remediation.
• Global materials manufacturing company arising from post-acquisition integration of Mainland China based targets; analysed various compliance issues; advised on remediation and disclosure requirements.
• Multinational supplier of fresh produce including review and evaluation of governance and compliance framework, internal controls and assessed risks; advised on remediation following dawn raids, detention of employees and government investigations into alleged customs violations in Mainland China.
• Multinational mining company involving evaluation of compliance policies, internal controls, responding to inquiries from regulators in British Columbia and the United States and advising on remediation following investigations in Hong Kong, Mainland China and Mongolia relating to allegation of corruption, fraud and insider dealing.
• Major multinational trading group involving set up of compliance framework, policies and procedures and internal controls and provided training to staff in the Asia Pacific regional office in Singapore following a substantial cross border investigation in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam into possible fraud, corruption and money laundering issues.
• European state-owned transport operator to conduct a gap analysis of its anti-bribery and competition legal and regulatory frameworks to ensure compliance with Hong Kong Prevention of Bribery Ordinance and French SAPIN II, devised a compliance programme to be rolled out internationally.
• Chinese leading multinational technology company to draft compliance policies and procedures covering a broad range of regulatory topics, including data privacy and protection, intellectual property, import and export restrictions, sanctions, anti-money laundering, anti-bribery and corruption, and competition.
• International event solutions provider to conduct a gap analysis of its antitrust legal and regulatory framework to ensure compliance with Hong Kong Competition Law.
• Substantial cross-border online insurance investment product platform to advise on potential regulatory and compliance issues concerning arrangement of online insurance and investment product platform with various players including insurance and investment companies, brokers and customers.
• Multinational corporations with operations in Asia to conduct compliance due diligence, advised on legal and regulatory risks and measures to minimize liability in cross-border transactions and investments, advised on disclosure obligations assisted in making disclosures to authorities, advised on and assisted in remediation and implementation of post-acquisition integration strategies, conducted customised compliance training for senior management, legal counsel, compliance officers, operational staff and third parties.
• Compliance training on including laws and regulations concerning anti-bribery, anti-competition, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, conflicts of interest, data privacy and protection etc.

‍

Data protection / privacy

‍

Data breach incidents (Europe/ US/Mainland China)

• Multinational metals plant construction company to investigate data breach incidents resulting in loss of significant intellectual property; working with computer forensic experts in identifying root cause of breaches and collecting evidence for reporting to authorities in Mainland China; assessing gaps in controls framework advising on remediation.
• US manufacturer and wholesaler of consumer products concerning investigation of data breach incidents in its Mainland China operations resulting in industrial espionage; collected and notarised evidence for use legal proceedings in US Courts.

‍

Advisory (Hong Kong)

• International banking group based in Europe to advise on laws and regulations concerning data categories, data processing, data transfer, data security and data breach under the laws of Hong Kong; advising on banking secrecy laws; advising on related labour law issues.
• Financial institution on its new target operating model involving the migration and storage of its core banking system anonymised data to a cloud system in Europe; advised on legal and regulatory requirements of cross-border transfer of anonymised personal data from the financial institution’s operations from Hong Kong to Europe.
• European-based multinational investment bank and financial services company to advise on data retention, data privacy, data transfer, anti-money laundering, banking and securities, consumer, companies and other laws and regulations relating to the client’s migration of its global electronic archiving systems across different jurisdictions.
• Multinational telecommunications equipment company to counsel on compliance with cybersecurity related regulations and data privacy related laws and regulations.
• UAE banking group in regulatory mapping of Hong Kong data protection laws against the GDPR.
• Fortune-100 financial services organisation to advise on personal data protection and direct marketing laws and regulations relating to its global CRM system.
• Global online foreign exchange service provider to counsel on money service operator compliance issues, client identity verification issues and other issues under the Electronic Transactions Ordinance.
• U.S.-based global provider of online trading services to advise on its client account opening requirements in Hong Kong.
• U.S.-based global investment management firm to advise on personal data protection and policies relating to its BYOD (Bring-Your-Own-Device) programme.
• Japanese telecommunications operator group to counsel on cloud service licensing, data protection and telecommunications licensing in Hong Kong.
• Multinational online auction platform to advise on its personal data protection policies and its online auctions consignment agreement.
• Multinational publishing and education company to advise on data privacy and security relating to the administration of its stock option plan.
• Multinational corporations, financial institutions, fund managers, and law firms advisory and counselling on cybersecurity and data privacy issues including advising on, setting up and implementing policies and procedures, including for third party engagements and outsourcing arrangements; monitoring and assessing risks; remediating issues and managing collection, processing, and transfer of data in internal and government investigations.

‍

Advisory (Mainland China)

• European luxury goods group to advise on the requirements for cross-border transfer of sensitive personal information and automatic decision making under the Personal Information Protection Law and their implication on its sales policies.
• European luxury goods group to conduct a review of its Mainland China website’s compliance with the Personal Information Protection Law.
• European luxury goods group to conduct a maturity assessment of its Mainland China operations’ compliance with the Cyberseurity Law, Data Security Law and the Personal Information Protection Law.
• European educational technology company offering a SaaS LMS platform to advise on the extraterritorial implications of the Personal Information Protection Law in Mainland China and how they impact its business model, particularly the requirements on data localisation and cross-border transfer of personal information of employees of its customers located in Mainland China.
• Listed multinational sports and sport-lifestyle product manufacturer to counsel on the implication of the Cybersecurity Law and Personal Information Protection Law in Mainland China, particularly with regards to its use of HR SaaS solution based outside of Mainland China.
• Listed multinational sports and sport-lifestyle product manufacturer to advise on the application of the Cybersecurity Law, the Data Security Law, the Personal Information Protection Law and the Measures for Security Assessment for Outbound Data Transfer to its business and operations.
• Multinational life science, health science and agriculture group to provide counselling on the requirements of establishing a securities operations centre under the Cybersecurity Law as an extension of its global security operations centre.
• International fund management company to advise on cross-border data transfer of data residing in Mainland China.
• Multinational commodities trading company to advise on cross-border arbitrage trading, cybersecurity, data privacy and VPN licensing in Mainland China.

• Hong Kong listed company and officers defending action by liquidators of two Hong Kong listed companies for breach of fiduciary and other duties, dishonest assistance, knowing receipt and equitable fraud when managing company affairs in context of corporate rescue.
• Former interim chief financial officer opposing application by liquidators for private examination in relation to management of affairs of Hong Kong listed company, and pursuing appeals before the Court of Appeal and the Court of Final Appeal.
• Various investment and asset management companies defending action brought by liquidators concerning  reorganisation of corporate group with allegations that directors breached fiduciary duties, participated in self-dealing transactions and misappropriation of corporate assets.
• Offshore convertible bond holders in cross border recovery actions in context of Mainland China court-led reorganisation.

• High net worth individual seeking specific performance of agreement for acquisition of substantial parcels of land in Mainland China involving acquisition of shares in Hong Kong company, and pursuing claims for breach of contract, dishonest assistance and knowing receipt of shares in breach of trust, setting aside of fraudulent transfers, declarations that shares are held on constructive trust, damages, and equitable compensation.
• Leading automotive multinational corporation against defendants resisting application by defendants to enforce an undertaking as to damages granted as part of a Mareva injunction. The representation includes appeals to the Court of Appeal and Court of Final Appeal.
• Hong Kong listed company involved in the recycling industry including pursuing counterclaims concerning the restructuring of pre-listing inter-company debts of a former Dutch and Chinese joint venture. The matter includes pursuing claims under a letter of indemnity by way of third party and contribution proceedings.
• Hong Kong listed company in the recycling and environmental protection industries regarding claims related to convertible bonds and pre-listing loan for payment of trade debts.
• Hong Kong listed company defending claims for commission under a financing intermediary agreement.
• Cross-border proceedings before Hong Kong High Court and Mainland China Intermediate Peoples’ Court acting for a renowned electronics multinational company regarding the ownership of important trademark registrations in Mainland China.
• High net worth individual defending originating summons for specific performance of agreement for sale and purchase of a hotel, successfully resisting the appointment of interim receivers and managers pending trial, including opposing appeal by unsuccessful plaintiff before the Court of Appeal.
• Japanese listed company and Hong Kong subsidiary pursuing claims in relation to private placement in Hong Kong listed company and joint venture, seeking rescission of subscription agreement and return of subscription monies, damages for misrepresentations, breach of joint venture agreement and master production agreement.
• Founding shareholder in major Hong Kong corporate group defending against the dissolution of partnerships within group.
• Supply chain solutions company defending proprietary and personal claims to recover funds received in the ordinary course of business with counterparties who allegedly defrauded plaintiff.
• Founding shareholder in major Hong Kong corporate group valued at tens of billions of dollars defending unfair prejudice petition concerning control and management of principal holding company within group with asset value of approximately HK$7 billion. Representation included successfully resisting the appointment of receivers and managers.  The representation included appeals to the Court of Appeal and Court of Final Appeal.
• Treasury company of major Hong Kong corporate group defending repayment of loans to avoid the unwinding of the group’s financial system.
• Founding shareholder in major Hong Kong corporate group defending action for ownership of controlling shares in a substantial subsidiary.
• Hong Kong companies within Hong Kong corporate group seeking removal of existing auditors and appointment of new auditors.
• Minority shareholders of a BVI incorporated SPV involved in a joint venture to construct and operate an expressway petitioning for relief against unfairly prejudicial conduct by the majority shareholder for exclusion from management, excessive directors’ remuneration and breach of dividend policies, or alternatively the winding up of the SPV on just and equitable grounds.
• Two former directors of Hong Kong listed company defending derivative action alleging breach of director’s duties in management of company’s business and affairs, including company’s fund-raising efforts by private placement and/or other means.
• Former directors of Japanese and Hong Kong privately held companies defending claims for misappropriation of company assets and corporate opportunities.
• High net worth individual seeking injunction to restrain proposed removal as chairman and chief executive and re-designation as a non-executive director of a substantial Hong Kong listed property group. The representation included appeals to the Court of Appeal.
• Charitable foundation in relation to disputes over the ownership and control of assets following the death of founder.

‍