When Business Disputes and Criminal Law Collide

Commercial disagreements are increasingly escalating into the realm of criminal law, with allegations of fraud, corruption and corporate misconduct being used as strategic leverage. This may lead to simultaneous multiple investigations by several agencies in different countries and related proceedings. What protections exist for business and directors facing such allegations? How should boards and in-house counsel respond when faced with this?How are judges and arbitrators to consider such allegations when resolving the dispute? The panel will explore how and why commercial conflicts become “criminalised”, the challenges in distinguishing genuine criminal misconduct from aggressive litigation tactics and the legal and ethical considerations that follow. The discussion aims to equip participants with practical guidance on navigating these complex intersections, managing risks proactively and best practices on stakeholder management.

Presenters

Lakshmi Nadarajah

Of Counsel, Christopher & Lee Ong

Kuala Lumpur

Paolo Grandi

Partner, Rplt

Milano

Samar Singh Kachwaha

Counsel, Chambers of Samar Singh Kachwaha

New Delhi

Masafumi Kodama

Partner, Kitahama Partners

Osaka

Masafumi Kodama is a partner at Kitahama Partners in Osaka, Japan. He received his LL.B from the University of Tokyo, started his practice in 1993, and received LL.M degree from Cornell Law School. After graduation from Cornell, he worked in New York and Singapore for a little more than a year. He has worked as counsel and arbitrator in a number of international commercial arbitration cases, as well as counsel for execution / setting aside cases before Japanese courts. With such experience, he regularly advises numerous multi-national companies on arbitration, has written and lectured for a variety of arbitration and dispute resolution issues, including the Japan Chapter of “World Arbitration Reporter” issued by Juris Publishing. He was the IPBA Committee Coordinator between 2016 and 2018, has been a Council member of Japan Association of Arbitrators since 2011, and an ICC Court member since 2024.

Presentations