Archives: Team

Haike is a paralegal in the Dispute Resolution and Sanctions departments at Eldwick Law. He works directly with partners on Commercial Litigation, Arbitration, and Sanctions related matters.

Haike achieved Second Class Upper Honours in Law (LLB, 2025) and is currently taking a Masters in Law specialising in International Dispute Resolution, both at King’s College London. While working at Eldwick, he has worked directly with Jenna Kruger on sanctions compliance relating to a divestment from Russia; advice on the enforceability of China based arbitration awards; and a commercial litigation dispute relating to the interpretation of penalty clauses in the context of construction works.

Having lived in Hong Kong and being fluent in both Mandarin and Cantonese, Haike works closely with Rashid Gaissin and Jenna Kruger on China related matters at Eldwick Law.

Dr Can Eken is an Arbitration specialist at Eldwick Law. He is an assistant professor at Durham Law School, Durham University, and co-director of the Durham International Dispute Resolution Institute (DIDRI). His research and teaching mainly focus on international commercial arbitration, investment law and third-party funding.

Dr Eken is admitted to practise law as an attorney in California, Turkiye, and as a solicitor in England and Wales. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He is on the list of arbitrators in many reputable arbitration centres such as the LCIA, DIAC, and AIAC. He was a visiting scholar at Stanford University, the Max Planck Institute in Luxembourg and Singapore Management University.

Rashid is a Partner at Eldwick Law, specialising in cross-border litigation, arbitration and sanctions compliance.

Rashid’s day to day focus is on international disputes, primarily commercial and investment arbitration, and High Court of London disputes. His clients include states, quasi-state entities and high net worth individuals from energy rich regions, such as Central Asia and the Middle East where he has extensive experience and contacts.

Rashid’s practice overlaps with Eldwick’s own expertise in commercial disputes, including litigation in the Chancery Division of the High Court and international arbitration centres across the world. Rashid’s jurisdictional versatility is key to our team managing disputes and understanding the commercial needs of clients in the mining, oil and gas, aviation and electronics sectors.

Rashid is dual-qualified in the UK and Kazakhstan. He is also an independent non-executive member of the Board, Legislative Committee and Nomination and Remuneration Committee at the Astana Financial Services Authority (the regulator of the Astana International Financial Centre).

Personable and approachable, Rashid has the ear of his clients and his peers. He has acted for state entities across the world, as well as corporates and private individuals, including shareholders of multinational corporations.

Stephen is a commercial and dispute resolution lawyer of 20 years’ standing.  Called to the Bar in 1999 following a short career in Trading Standards, Stephen worked in-house and in regulatory compliance in the secured lending market, including several years at GE Money.

He moved to private practice and enrolled as a solicitor in 2010 where he has concentrated on commercial dispute resolution with a particular focus on professional negligence, especially claims against solicitors, and matters relating to retail financial services and the London insurance market (including employment matters).

Stephen is a key member of the Financial Services team here at Eldwick Law with his extensive experience of financial services litigation and the industry generally.

Michael was called to the Bar at Lincoln’s Inn in 2007. Since then, he has developed a strong practice in Legal Coordination, serving as a trusted advisor and working with specialist firms to meet his clients’ needs across increasingly diverse fields of law. As a recognised member of the Armenian community in London, Michael has a strong profile amongst individual and business clients from the CIS region. 

Associations

• Member of the Bar at Lincoln’s Inn

Abbas is a specialist White Collar Crime Solicitor at Eldwick Law. He has acted for high-net worth individuals, politicians, multi-national companies, and quasi-state entities in criminal investigations and proceedings.

He has defended in investigations and prosecutions brought by the Serious Fraud Office, National Crime Agency, Financial Conduct Authority and extraterritorial prosecuting authorities such as Interpol. He has appeared before the High Court of Justice, Crown Court and Court of Appeal.

Abbas’ White Collar Crime practice includes acting for those facing prosecution for the most serious criminal offences, including bribery and corruption, grave criminal offences, and serious fraud. He has specialised in this area for over 15 years, working with a number of boutique dispute practices in the City of London.

As a Certified Fraud Examiner, Abbas is qualified to advise those that require specialist compliance advice and/or anticipate an impending investigation. This includes providing advice to multi-national companies, their directors and senior management, and quasi-state entities on:

• Dawn raids
• Pre-charge representations in criminal investigations
• Extradition requests, Interpol Red Notices and MLA

Described by his clients as personable, focused and detail-orientated, Abbas is able to devise a clear strategy for his clients at the outset of a matter, often leading to his clients’ cases being resolved before proceedings are issued or charges brought against them.

Abbas works within the Dispute Resolution and Sanctions departments at Eldwick Law, providing advice when issues cross into criminal law.

White Collar Crime

• Acted for the COO of a collapsed Texan oil company alleged to have deceived the company’s board of directors into entering into a USD 300 million transaction.
• Acted for the lead defendants in a prosecution brought by HM Revenue & Customs – which formed part of a series of prosecutions known as Operation Maplin – in response to allegations of fraudulent evasion of duty, VAT fraud and money laundering arising out of the sale of diesel fuel in the UK.
• Acted for the lead defendant, a Chartered Accountant, in a prosecution brought by the National Crime Agency in relation to a sophisticated immigration fraud, which involved allegations of money laundering.
• Acted for a company director in a criminal prosecution – under the Operation Spitz regime – brought by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulations Authority (MHRA) arising out of the supply of unauthorised medicinal products.
• Represented a company director in allegations of causing death by dangerous driving, focusing on complex arguments regarding causation and speed determination.

Asset Recovery

Abbas regularly assists clients in civil recovery actions, including contesting Account Freezing Orders (AFOs) and Forfeiture proceedings, often achieving successful outcomes in challenging cases.

• Represented a Dubai-based property developer in a multi-jurisdictional fraud and money laundering prosecution, including contesting Account Freezing and Forfeiture proceedings.
• Successfully represented company directors accused of involvement in the illegal importation of tobacco products, fraudulent evasion of excise duty (estimated £5m annually), and money laundering. Contested Account Freezing Orders and Forfeiture proceedings (Operation Fajita).
• Represented a company director in large-scale HMRC Gift Aid fraud and money laundering allegations, including associated civil recovery actions.
• Advising a client in respect of a Crypto Wallet Freezing Order (CWFO), arising from alleged regulatory breaches identified by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Interpol Red Notices

Abbas has advised on the following matters

• Advised a Ukrainian national on disclosure applications to the CCF relating to a potential Interpol Red Notice 
• Advised a UK national on an Interpol Red Notice issued on behalf of the UAE 

Professional Societies and Memberships:

• London Criminal Courts Solicitors’ Association (“LCCSA”);
• International Compliance Association (“ICA”);
• Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (“ACFE”).