Weiyi Tan

Full Profile

Weiyi advises clients on investigations into corruption, money laundering, employee misconduct, fraud and other white-collar offences, and assists them with their response to enforcement and regulatory authorities in the context of government investigations.

She also advises on the design and implementation of compliance programs, including undertaking risk assessments to identify risk areas, drafting compliance policies to address these risks, assisting with the training of employees/third parties and addressing instances of non-compliance when they occur. As part of the compliance program, she further advises clients on their internal investigation protocols, employee disciplinary processes and dawn raid procedures.

As a litigator, Weiyi represents clients as lead counsel in litigation and arbitration proceedings relating to general commercial, international trade, investment, employment, and technology disputes. She is also an experienced mediator and arbitrator, having been appointed to the panels of the Singapore Mediation Centre and the Singapore International Arbitration Centre.

Weiyi is appointed to the Goods and Services Tax Board of Review by the Ministry of Finance and serves as Honorary Secretary of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators. Weiyi is also appointed by the Ministry of National Development as an Assessor under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020. She has served as President of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners’ (ACFE) Singapore Chapter and is a Certified Privacy Manager with the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). Weiyi regularly speaks and publishes on her areas of expertise, and is the author of the Singapore Chapter of the International Comparative Legal Guide – Corporate Investigations 2022.

Weiyi is recognised as a “Next Generation Partner” for White Collar Crime by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, and named “Litigation Star” by Benchmark Litigation Asia Pacific. Clients describe her as a “stellar attorney” who “is both extremely knowledgeable of the regulatory framework and relentlessly responsive”. They also praise her for her “wealth of knowledge and pragmatic approach”. 

Experience

Representative matters

Litigation and Arbitration

• Cryptocurrency dispute / SIAC Arbitration: Acted for an investor in SIAC arbitration proceedings against a cryptocurrency trading platform for losses arising from unauthorized transactions on the investor’s account.
• Telecommunications infrastructure services / SIAC Arbitration: Acted for a Dutch technology company in SIAC arbitration proceedings against a service provider for the failure to deliver telecommunications infrastructure services in accordance with agreed specifications.
• Gaming industry / SIAC Arbitration: Acting for a global game developer against a web design company in respect of contractual and tortious claims arising from the leak of confidential and valuable market data due to failures by the counterparty.
• *Transactional dispute / SIAC Arbitration: Represented a Swedish private equity fund in arbitration proceedings under the auspices of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) against a management consulting company in its claim for breach of the consultancy agreement between the parties. Successfully obtained an arbitral award in the client’s favour.
• *Distributorship agreement / SCIA Arbitration: Represented a Bruneian owner of a shrimp farm in arbitration proceedings administered by the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration in China against a company in Hong Kong SAR, involving a claim for the alleged breach of a distributorship agreement between the parties. Successfully defended against majority of the counterparty’s claims.
• *Transactional and employment dispute / Multiple proceedings: Represented a Singapore private equity fund in SIAC arbitration proceedings against two of its former key employees based in Switzerland, arising out of an equity participation plan extended to the employees. The dispute was also the subject of concurrent court proceedings in Switzerland and we successfully assisted with the negotiation of a global settlement in respect of the ongoing court and arbitration proceedings.
• *Trademark infringement / Court proceedings: Represented a major cigarette manufacturer in criminal enforcement and concurrent civil proceedings against parties involved in the sale and distribution of counterfeit cigarettes in various countries. Successfully obtained injunctive relief against counterparties for trademark infringement.
• *Copyright infringement / Court proceedings: Represented a French multinational confectionary company against a copyright infringement and trademark revocation claim by an Indian company in respect of artistic work used on product packaging.
• *Professional liability / Court proceedings: Represented and successfully obtained an acquittal for a Project Manager of a major construction project in respect of a criminal charge of professional negligence and breach of workplace safety laws, which was alleged to have brought about the collapse of structural elements and the death of individuals on site.
• *Criminal defence / Court proceedings: Represented an individual in its defence against charges of illegal moneylending arising from alleged loans given by way of property transactions.

Regulatory, Compliance and Investigations

• Sanctions: Defended an American global insurance brokerage firm in Singapore court proceedings arising from a claim by shipowners pursuant to insurance policy documents, on grounds that the vessel in question had been placed on the OFAC SDN List.
• Investigations - employee misconduct: Assisted a major insurance company with internal investigations into allegations of fraud and misconduct involving senior employees; advising on further disciplinary proceedings against the said individuals.
• *Investigations - fraud and corruption: Led an investigation into a Singapore-headquartered power company on allegations of fraud and corruption in Indonesia. Advised the client on money laundering issues arising from predicate offences and assisted with the client’s reports to regulatory authorities in Singapore, Indonesia, the UK and the US, eventually obtaining a favourable resolution of the matter with the authorities.
• Sanctions: Advised a leading international oil and gas services company on the impact of Russia-related sanctions in Singapore, with respect to the deployment of staff in connection with offshore Russian energy-related operations.
• Data privacy compliance: Conducted a data privacy assessment review for a state-owned multinational corporation in the energy industry; assisted the client with the implementation of enhanced data privacy policies and processes following the review.
• ESG: Advising the subsidiary of a state-owned enterprise in the power industry, on the legal framework and requirements related to ESG governance, laws and policies of our client’s business processes.
• *Trade compliance: Represented a manufacturing company in its defence to investigations and charges brought by Singapore Customs under the Singapore Strategic Goods (Control) Act; obtained a favourable resolution of the matter with the authorities.
• *Tax evasion and money laundering: Advised the Singapore subsidiary of a Swiss financial institution on an investigation into potential offences of tax evasion and breach of reporting obligations under US, Swiss and Singapore laws, by way of an elaborate tax fraud scheme. Advised the client on money laundering issues arising from the transfer of funds and assisted the client in its response to investigations by the US Department of Justice, Swiss financial authority and Singapore Monetary Authority of Singapore.
• *Insider Trading / Market manipulation: Advised a British multinational bank in its internal investigations on allegations of insider trading and market manipulation by its traders in relation to bond products. Provided the client with legal advice on potential liability and assisted the client in its reports to the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
• *Regulatory offences – foreign exchange: Assisted a US multinational bank on a complex multi-jurisdictional risk assessment in Asia Pacific, as a result of investigations and prosecution by the US Department of Justice in respect of cross border forex offences.
• *Anti-trust: Advised and represented a European manufacturing company in its internal investigations into potential anti-trust violations. Assisted the client in its response to investigations by the Competition Commission of Singapore in respect of allegations on the abuse of dominant position.

* Matters done prior to joining Clyde & Co