Curtis Strengthens Middle East Offering With Two New Appointments

Curtis Strengthens Middle East Offering With Two New Appointments

Law Firm Curtis has appointed Leading Finance and Islamic Finance Lawyer Victoria Mesquita to its Dubai office as a Partner, together with Ganna Vlasenko, who joined as Counsel.

Both of them join from Addleshaw Goddard and together bring complementary strengths in both traditional and Islamic Finance.

Victoria is at the forefront of the development of complex investment solutions in the region. She has developed her finance practice over two decades, with a focus on banking and finance, project financing and capital markets transactions, predominantly structured as Shari’a-compliant transactions.

She has two decades of experience advising clients on commercial transactions, majority of which she has spent in the Middle East advising on banking, finance, investments and the debt capital markets, with a particular focus on Shari’ah-compliant financings and investments. Victoria counsels both financiers and issuers/borrowers on a wide range of complex, cross-border financing and debt capital markets transactions and restructurings, including syndicated facilities, projects, mezzanine, leveraged acquisitions, private debt, asset-based finance, structured notes and securitizations. Victoria also advises on investment fund in particular Shari'ah compliant structures.

Notable for her breadth of experience in both traditional and Islamic finance, Victoria advises private funds, private clients and family offices on complex investment solutions such as structured notes, securitizations, private placements, bond and sukuk issuances, programmes and restructurings, private credit, direct lending, venture debit and mezzanine financing, in particular those which are structured as Shari’a compliant investments, in a wide range of industries including energy, water, real estate, infrastructure, healthcare, education and technology.

Ganna Vlasenko is an experienced senior lawyer with a demonstrated history of working in the law practice industry. Ganna has extensive experience in debt and equity capital markets, structured finance and securities regulation. She has experience advising leading financial institutions, corporates and government entities in connection with debt and equity capital market structures, including GDRs, IPOs, standalone bonds, sukuk, LPNs, MTN Programmes, contingent convertibles, covered bonds and securitisations. She also advises leading global payment services providers and payment systems. Ganna has spent a significant amount of time on secondments to international investment banks.

Ganna’s debt capital markets experience includes advising underwriters and issuers on the full range of debt capital market products, including corporate and sovereign bonds and sukuk, private placements, medium term notes and sukuk programmes, securitizations, structured products, liability management and regulatory capital issuances. In the Islamic finance industry, Ganna has developed a reputation for advising on more complex or innovative transactions, many of which have been award-winning deals. Having started her career with a Magic Circle firm in London and, having also worked for global financial institutions, Ganna moved to Dubai in 2017.

Victoria also has significant experience advising on complex cross-border fund formation and structuring. She is admitted in New York and Spain.

“Our clients in GCC and globally will appreciate Victoria’s breadth of experience in conventional finance and, in particular, her expertise in Shari’a compliant finance. She is a terrific person and we are delighted to have her in the Dubai team,” said Jeremy Miocevic, the Managing Partner of Curtis Dubai.

Victoria commented, “I am delighted to join Curtis, a firm well known for its internationally oriented approach, network of high-calibre and talented attorneys and stellar client list. I am particularly excited about working closely with our leading New York Islamic finance practice on complex cross- border Shari’a-compliant investment solutions. The firm is a perfect complement for my practice and I hope to make a significant contribution towards growing the firm’s Middle East-wide and international finance capabilities.”