Dilruba Naoshin joined Uteem Chambers in 2010 and was appointed Partner & Director in December 2023. She practises in banking & finance and corporate & commercial law, advising development finance institutions, multinational banks, and private-equity investors on complex, high-value cross-border transactions.

Her expertise spans structured and project finance, Islamic finance, corporate restructuring, and fund formation. Dilruba regularly advises on the creation and registration of Mauritius-law securities, multi-jurisdictional debt restructurings, and private-equity investments throughout Africa, Europe, and Asia.

She holds an LLM in Corporate & Commercial Laws (Merit) from University College London, a Postgraduate Diploma in Bar Vocational Studies from BPP Law School, and an LLB (Hons) from the University of Westminster. She was called to the Bar of England & Wales (Lincoln’s Inn) in 2006, to the Dhaka Bar (Bangladesh) in 2008, and to the Mauritian Bar in 2016.

Representative Experience

Banking & Finance

• Acted for OPIC/DFC, TDB, Afreximbank, Norfund, IFC, AfDB, CDC, EDC on multi-million-dollar lending mandates.

• Represented YES Bank, Axis Bank, IndusInd, HDFC, Standard Bank, Standard Chartered, Nedbank, BNP Paribas, KKR, DBS, UOB, OCBC, VTB Bank in financing transactions.

• Drafted, negotiated, and registered Mauritius-law securities and guarantees for cross-border loans.

• Advised on Islamic bond (sukuk) issuance in Malaysia valued up to MYR 5 billion.

• Acted for senior lenders in Boeing-777 refinancing transactions.

• Counselled Indian conglomerates and African telecom groups on debt-restructuring facilities worth several billion USD.

• Advised a global infrastructure investor on sustainable-finance structures.

Corporate Restructuring

• Led the restructuring of 17 Mauritius subsidiaries of a major Indian conglomerate (multi-billion-dollar value).

• Advised Mauritius entities of a UK-based infrastructure finance provider on trust and corporate reorganisation.

• Assisted a UK private-equity firm investing in Africa on fund-vehicle restructuring.

• Advised on the formation of new entities and corporate-governance documentation.

Private Equity & Funds

• Assisted in structuring and closing the Africa50 Infrastructure Acceleration Fund and related investment platforms.

• Advised Kotak and other fund managers on Mauritius fund-vehicle structuring and regulatory queries.

Project Finance

• Advised on the Mauritius aspects of power-plant financing in Rwanda, Zambia, and Uganda.

Corporate Governance & Compliance

• Drafted and reviewed AML/CFT manuals for funds, investment dealers, and corporations.

Achievements

• Notable Practitioner — IFLR1000 (2024)

• Africa50 Infrastructure Acceleration Fund ranked “Remarkable” by LegalOne (2024)

Professional Qualifications

• Mauritian Bar — September 2016

• Dhaka Bar (Bangladesh) — August 2008

• Bar of England & Wales (Lincoln’s Inn) — November 2006

Education

• University College London — LLM in Corporate & Commercial Laws (Merit) (2007)

• BPP Law School — Postgraduate Diploma, Bar Vocational Course (2006)

• University of Westminster — LLB (Hons), Upper Second Class (2005)

Notable Internships

• Uteem Chambers, Mauritius (2009)

• Dr. Kamal Hossain & Associates, Dhaka, Bangladesh (2008)

• United Nations Office of Legal Affairs, New York, USA (2007)

Languages

• English
• Bengali
• Hindi
• Urdu