Asia Newsletter (December 18, 2020)

Chika Igarashi is a partner at Nishimura & Asahi specializing in the fields of (i) Banking and Financial Regulations. Chika also has extensive experience in advising a wide range of corporations on (ii) the countermeasures for AML/CFT (anti-money laundering/countering financing of terrorism) and foreign economic sanctions, including OFAC regulations; (iii) data privacy; (iv) global compliance and governance, including the establishment and implementation of whistleblowing and internal control systems; and (v) dispute resolution and crisis management involving cross-border aspects for corporate clients. She also advises corporations doing business in (vi) Africa and the Middle East.

Akihiro Shiba represents a wide range of clients, including numerous financial institutions and FinTech firms, within and outside Japan, in connection with licensing, compliance and other regulatory matters (such as those related to banking, securities, derivatives, and payments regulations, FDI restrictions, and AML/CFT/CPF requirements), and domestic and cross-border financial transactions (including those related to structured finance and asset management). Since 2014, his practice has focused on various FinTech matters, including those involving various digital tokens (such as cryptocurrencies, securities tokens, stablecoins, and NFTs), online platform-based financial transactions (like social lending and other crowdfunding), and online remittance and payment services (such as mobile payments). He has written numerous books and articles, and given many seminars and lectures, on subjects relevant to his practice areas.

Since 2009, as an attorney in the firm’s finance team, Toshiyuki has been handling various financial transactions and financial regulatory/compliance matters, with a focus on asset management and derivatives, his main practice areas. He advises both domestic and foreign asset managers, financial institutions, and corporates on financial regulation matters in the asset management and derivatives spaces, as well as on contract drafting, regulatory analyses, and development of internal controls for new product launches. Further, he has been involved in numerous cross-border finance transactions and investment transactions by fund operators. Recently, his practical experience expanded to the FinTech space, such as digital securities, and he has been publishing articles and giving presentations on artificial intelligence/machine learning in relation to finance industries. In addition to finance matters, he has extensive experience in handling regulatory defense matters and foreign class actions in cooperation with foreign law firms. Prior to being registered as an attorney-at-law in 2009 and joining the firm, he worked at a Japanese credit rating agency and the Tokyo arm of a U.S. investment bank as a credit analyst in the securitization space. He is a Certified Member Analyst of the Securities Analysts Association of Japan and a Certified International Investment Analyst.