Akhtar Imam & Associates

Number of Partners: 3
Languages: English and Bengali
Contact point: Rashna Imam (Managing Partner), +8801714136071, [email protected]

Firm Overview:
Founded in 1980, Akhtar Imam & Associates is one of the leading full service law firms in Bangladesh. Akhtar Imam, the founder and senior partner, is a senior advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh and regarded as one of the best legal minds in Bangladesh. The firm is best known for its expertise in company and commercial law, litigation (civil, company and constitutional), domestic and international commercial arbitration, foreign investment, labour, employment, banking, finance and securities laws. The firm’s clients benefit from its extensive networks and industry knowledge acquired over 40 years. The partners have led landmark constitutional law cases of great national, historical and economic significance and high value mergers and acquisitions. They regularly drive law and policy reform through public interest litigation, advocacy and engagement with stakeholders, at all levels of the government, NGOs and the private sector, through participation in round tables, seminars, webinar and dialogues. The firm’s impressive array of clients is testament to the high quality of legal services it has been providing over four decades. Over the years the firm has advised global giants like Visa, Japan Tobacco International, Facebook, Spotify, Mitsubishi, General Electric, Singer, British American Tobacco, Ernst & Young, UNDP and Marie Stopes International, among others. In Bangladesh, over the years the firm has advised the Bangladesh Bank (central bank of Bangladesh), Pubali Bank Limited (largest private commercial bank), AB Bank Limited (first private sector bank in Bangladesh), the Department for International Development (DFID), Bangladesh, SSL COMMERZ (largest payment aggregator in Bangladesh), Pran Group, Akij Group, Globe Pharmaceuticals Group Limited, large telecoms like Grameenphone and Banglalink, Biman Bangladesh Airlines (the national flag carrier), apex trade bodies like the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and Dhaka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), among others.

Main Areas of Practice:

Litigation: The firm has leading expertise in complex company litigation, judicial review of decisions of public authorities (writ petitions), banking litigation, civil litigation in general and public interest litigation. The partners regularly act as lead counsels and amicus curiae in landmark cases before the Supreme Court. Its lawyers regularly appear before the full range of courts and tribunals for local conglomerates, MNCs, Bangladesh Bank, large private banks, financial institutions, eminent businessmen, non-profit organisations, etc. It recently advised Facebook on potential litigation relating to the extent to which the operations of Facebook in Bangladesh may fall within regulatory purview. The firm has also led landmark cases of great public interest at the Supreme Court. Some public interest litigation in recent years include:

• established a legal framework for emergency-medical-services for road accident victims, in view of the urgent need to curb road fatalities, on behalf of Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST);
• directed reform of the Human Organ Donation and Transplantation Act 1999, to reduce the gap between demand and supply of kidneys and curb illegal kidney trade by expanding the definition of donors (currently restricted to near relatives) to include emotional donors.
• challenged the failure of the authorities to curb the alarming rise of medically unnecessary C-sections in private and public hospitals in Bangladesh and sought guidelines for its prevention on behalf of BLAST.

Arbitration: The firm regularly handles complex commercial arbitrations, domestic and international, under the ICC Rules, the IATA Rules, UNCITRAL Rules, GAFTA, FOSFA, the Arbitration Act 2001 of Bangladesh, etc. Our lawyers have served as both counsel and arbitrator. The firm has extensive experience in handling litigation (arising out of arbitration) for interim relief, enforcement of arbitral award, application for setting aside arbitral awards and application for appointment of arbitrators. Currently, the firm is engaged in opposing the enforcement of an ICC award in favour of Gulf Air, is representing ABB India Limited, a leading engineering multinational in an international commercial arbitration against Power Grid Company of Bangladesh Limited (a government owned sole electric power transmission company) for imposition of liquidated damages and is representing Globe Pharmaceuticals Group of Companies Limited in multiple arbitrations under FOSFA and GAFTA Rules of Arbitration.

Corporate and Commercial: The firm specializes in M&A (domestic and cross-border), post-acquisition integrations, joint ventures, corporate re-structuring, corporate taxation, capitalizing businesses through debt and equity transactions, securities laws, corporate taxation, corporate governance, complex commercial contracts, selection and formation of business entities and company secretarial and directorship services. The firm’s lawyers are leading experts on all aspects of company litigation starting from routine matters like amendment of objects clauses to administrative matters like winding up applications, to complex and highly disputed shareholder-management disputes, applications for rectification of share register, application for reduction of share capital and applications for court’s sanction of amalgamations. The firm has advised Marico Bangladesh Limited on the implications of the Companies (Amendment) Act 2020 and Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry on reform of the Companies Act 1994.

Banking, Finance, Microfinance and Securities: The firm specializes in drafting and reviewing bank loan, credit and security documentations, loan syndication, restructuring, dishonour of cheque and banking litigation before the Money Loan Courts and the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, advisory work and litigation arising out of securities laws. The firm provides strategic guidance to leading financial institutions through board membership and as advisers. Some representative work include:

• advised an entity of Visa on the legal framework for payment systems, mobile financial services, card issuing activities.
• representing the Bangladesh Bank (the central bank of Bangladesh) in several cases before both divisions of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh.
• representing the Investment Corporation of Bangladesh before the Supreme Court. ICB, a statutory body, is an investment bank. It is one of the largest investors in the share market of Bangladesh and the most profitable state-owned corporation of Bangladesh.
• conducted a comprehensive review of the legal framework in Bangladesh for the establishment of a Credit Information Bureau for Microfinance (CIB-MF), interviewed all stakeholders including heads of microfinance institutions, Microcredit Regulatory Authority (the regulator), and the Bangladesh Bank and prepared a report suggesting amendments to existing laws, rules and regulations to facilitate the establishment of CIB-MF.
• advised British American Tobacco Bangladesh on retrospective imposition of VAT & supplementary duty of Tk.1924,00,00,000 (One thousand nine hundred and twenty four crores taka) on the sale of tobacco products and on invoking arbitration under bilateral investment treaties between Bangladesh and UK and Bangladesh and Netherlands.
• Litigation against a public listed company for violating anti-fraud provisions in the securities laws and breaching conditions of the IPO Consent letter.

Foreign Investment: The firm specializes in advising foreign companies on foreign exchange control, regulatory and tax matters, company formation, establishment and closure of branch, liaison and representative offices, registered office services, directorial services, post-incorporation approvals, permits, licences, registrations etc., e.g. VAT, TIN, trade license, Import & Export Registration Certificate, permission from Board Investment Development Authority, work permit, etc. Some of the firm’s representative matters under this head includes setting up a liaison office in Bangladesh for Visa Worldwide Singapore Pte. Limited and advising Ernst & Young, India on closure of its branch office and formation of a fully owned subsidiary company in Bangladesh and all foreign exchange control, regulatory and tax matters arising from that.

Labour/employment: The firm advises on a broad range of labour/employment issues including regulatory compliance, employment contracts, disputes, profit-sharing schemes, employee share schemes, benefits, personal data protection, termination, redundancies, etc. Its lawyers regularly appear before the labour tribunals and the Supreme Court in labour disputes. During the covid-19 pandemic, it advised a broad spectrum of clients on legal modes of severance and termination benefits under the Labour Act 2006. The firm successfully defended Biman Bangladesh Airlines in judicial review proceedings filed by thousands of employees challenging its Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) of US$50m. The firm has recently advised Millennium Bangla Limited and Millennium Group of Companies, a leading player in the automobile industry of Bangladesh and the Bangladeshi entity of Japan Tobacco International on various labour and employment law issues that arose during the Covid-19 pandemic, including but not limited to, the legal modes of severance of workers and benefits owed to workers under the Labour Act, 2006.

Industry expertise: Our industry expertise is diverse, ranging from banking & finance, e-commerce, fintech, power, telecommunications, oil & gas, education, aviation, health, fast moving consumer goods, food and beverages, hospitality, aviation to chemicals and insurance.