Eugene Thuraisingam Asia LLC is a unique disputes practice in Singapore. The firm specialises in complex, high-stakes disputes involving commercial and criminal issues. It has a reputation for taking on – and often winning – difficult cases against major companies and institutions like the Singapore Attorney-General’s Chambers and the US Department of Justice.
It is regularly instructed in ‘bet the company’ litigation, banking-related matters, cross-border insolvency and civil recovery proceedings involving assets in excess of USD 100 million, and crisis litigation for UHNW individuals.
Uniquely, it is also a household name for criminal litigation, having secured high-profile acquittals for clients accused of serious crimes like rape and drug trafficking. It is the rare boutique firm ranked by The Legal 500 for domestic white-collar crime for its work in high-profile corruption and market abuse cases involving senior executives and related individuals from Singapore Post, Singapore Airlines, and 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). It also has a special expertise in cybercrime and related US extradition proceedings, and is currently litigating Singapore’s first extradition request under its newly-concluded extradition treaty with Indonesia. The firm’s success in the criminal litigation sphere adds heft to commercial disputes with hotly contested questions of fact.
It litigated the landmark case of Ramesh s/o Krishnan v AXA Life Insurance Singapore Pte Ltd [2017] SGHC 197, successfully suing the insurer on behalf of a former financial services director for sabotaging his career by giving a false employment reference. The case made precedent that employers must ensure that any facts stated in performance reviews are true and that any opinions expressed are supported by true facts.
It mainly advises directors, C-suite employees, and regulated industry professionals in civil and criminal proceedings involving allegations of fraud, breach of fiduciary duties, corruption and other white-collar issues, and the enforcement of Employee Stock Option (ESOP) plans. It also has a burgeoning corporate clientele, advising companies in relation to internal investigations, employee terminations and retrenchments, and acting against former employees (e.g., to enforce restraint of trade clauses).
The team is known for being commercially sophisticated, strategically minded, and aggressive. There is consistent partner-level attention to cases from start to finish, with an emphasis on delivering optimal outcomes for clients efficiently.
It has managed and conducted cross-border disputes involving USA, Greater China, India, UAE and Thailand where the firm has had an office in Bangkok since 2022.
Suang Wijaya leads the firm with directors Johannes Hadi and Faraaz Amzar. Faraaz brings a wealth of experience in the private and public sector experience, having worked as Justices’ Law Clerk, Magistrate of the State Courts, and as counsel in offshore firms based in Singapore handling internal and regulatory investigations. Eugene Thuraisingam remains in active practice on the Executive Committee, accepting select briefs and spearheading the firm’s continued expansion in the region.
