The firm assist clients in carrying audits and putting in place internal standards and structures to ensure compliance with local and/or international anti-money laundering laws and guidelines. The team was instructed by Transparency International to carry out a review of the anti-money laundering legislation in Kenya and whether it meets international commitments made by Kenya. Our report was then presented to relevant stakeholders including the Office of the Attorney General in Kenya. We are often called upon by companies and banks to advise them on internal anti-money-laundering policies.
Our Capital Markets practice focuses on advising clients on navigating the regulatory requirements associated with dealings in listed securities. We also assist prospective players in the capital markets sector in obtaining appropriate licensing from the Capital Markets Authority. The team has been involved in IPO’s of two publicly listed companies and have recently represented the Capital Markets Authority in two highly publicized investigations into fraud involving companies listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange, and these are: Mumias Sugar Company Limited and CMC Motors Group Limited.
We assist client with setting up their business in Kenya and advise on all aspect related to carrying out your business in Kenya, including: tax requirements; immigration permits for employees; registering for NSSF and NHIF; and shareholder agreements.
We also advise clients on their day-to-day legal obligations and review of their contracts in diverse fields.
We were recently appointed by the German Development company, GIZ, to draft the Beneficial Ownership regulations, in conjunction with the Business Registration Services (BRS), which were eventually adopted by the Government of Kenya in 2020, and now form part of the Laws of Kenya.
We assist clients in ensuring that their governance standards are up to par with recommended corporate governance standards and carry out corporate governance audits to ensure the same.
We assist clients in ensuring that their internal processes as well as contractual arrangements comply with international as well as local data protection and privacy laws both from a legal and technical point of view. The team was recently involved in carrying out an analysis of data protection laws in Kenya for the Government of Kenya.
At D&Co we offer expert services on Data Protection in line with the Kenya Data Protection Act 2019:
The team has acted and represented clients before the High Court of Kenya and the Court of Appeal of Kenya. The team has significant dispute resolution experience, particularly in conducting arbitrations and mediations. The team has represented clients in arbitration constituted under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), the now defunct Dubai International Financial Centre – London Court of International Arbitration (DIFC-LCIA), the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law ad hoc arbitration rules (UNCITRAL) and the Federation of Oils Seeds and Fat Association arbitration rules (FOSFA). Our Managing Director, Nikhil Desai, was recently appointed as Vice Chairman of the ADR Commission of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
The team has been called upon as speaker in numerous international conferences on alternative dispute resolution. We have also trained the Governments of Somalia, Ethiopia and Mozambique of Alternative Dispute Resolution methods. We were recently appointed by the Kenya Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to train senior members on the use of alternative dispute resolution in carrying out their mandate.
We assist clients in navigating the various employment laws and representing them in negotiations, investigations as well as dispute resolution. We advise clients on company policies, procedure manuals, employee handbooks, hiring practices and procedures, redundancies and terminations, discrimination, and wage laws. The team has advised employees and employers of their rights following dismissals and redundancies arising as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic.
The team has also represented clients before the Employment Tribunal and the High Court of Kenya
Our services also include acquisition of work and resident permits for expatriate employees, the preparation of executive service agreements, employment contracts and letters of appointment.
We assist clients on the various registration requirements, licences and structures for various fintech players such as payment service providers, payment aggregators and remittance platforms, among others.
We advise clients on various intellectual property issues such as trademarks, patents, copyright as well as their protection through enforcement mechanisms.
We assist our clients on the various legal and tax implications in planning and structuring their personal estate comprising local and international assets. We have significant experience in providing advice to client in relation to offshore trusts and implementing family constitutions. On the disputes front, we are currently representing Kenyan clients in cross-border family dispute involving numerous jurisdictions.
We advise clients on all their conveyancing matters as well as those intending to carry out large-scale construction projects, including financing of the transactions. This involves the legal and tax considerations of structuring developments for legal and commercial viability. We often act as buyer and seller and ensure that every precaution is taken protect our clients’ rights and interests.
We assist our clients in all matters tax such as tax advisory on equity and debt investments, transfer pricing, intragroup arrangements as well as negotiating tax disputes with tax authorities.
We advise on matters relating to Environment, Social and Governance principles, and in this regard, we have previously been instructed by the London Stock Exchange Group and the Kenyan Ministry of Energy and Petroleum to carry out a detailed review on all Kenyan legislation touching on Environmental, Social and Governance issues and identifying the gaps in the Kenyan legal framework using international standards as a bench mark. The final report was submitted in April 2019 and is aimed at assisting Kenyan companies obtaining financing through Green Bonds.
Separately, we run regular webinars running under the name, Africa Sustainability Forum, whose objective is to raise awareness about sustainability, and access to sustainable financing, for African businesses. These webinars have hosted speakers from the Kenya Bankers Association, various corporate climate change consultancies, non-profit organisations, to name a few.