Pietro Grassi

Investment Treaty Arbitration

• Representing a global conglomerate engaged in the procurement and export of agricultural commodities with operations across Africa, in relation to a USD 400m investment treaty arbitration against an East African State and involving allegations of expropriation of the investor’s goods and other malfeasances.
• Representing US investor Discovery Global LLC in a USD 600m ICSID arbitration against Slovakia concerning breaches of the US-Slovakia Bilateral Investment Treaty relating to Discovery’s investment in oil and gas exploration activities in eastern Slovakia
• Representing one of the world’s largest mining companies in a USD 500m investment treaty UNCITRAL claim against Liberia relating to a lucrative iron ore mining project and involving issues of expropriations and allegations of conspiracy between the state and another mining conglomerate.
• Representing a one of the largest privately owned US industrial conglomerates in a USD 400mn ICSID dispute against a South American country in relation to the development, construction and operation of two fertiliser factories and concerning expropriation, violation of FET and full protection and security standards.
• Representing an European investor in ICSID arbitration proceedings against a South American state in connection with the direct expropriation of the investment in the glass manufacturing industry as well as violations of FET, full protection and security, and transfer of funds. One of the classic “direct expropriation” cases against Venezuela with Hugo Chavez announcing the expropriation on national television. Fourth largest ICSID award on record at the time the award was issued.
• Representing an European subsidiary of one of the largest European PE funds in SCC USD 500m claim against an Eastern European country in connection with the indirect expropriation of their investment in the financial sector arising out of a regulatory change prohibiting the investor from exercising its voting rights and consequently being forced to sell his investment.
• Representing a Malaysian investor in connection with two large-scale mining projects in Poland in a USD 500m ICC investment treaty arbitration involving allegations of expropriation, breaches of the FET and FPS standards, and a breach of the obligation to encourage and create favourable conditions for foreign investors pursuant to the Malaysia-Poland Bilateral Investment Treaty.
• Representing a European services company in set aside and enforcement proceedings concerning an ad hoc UNCITRAL arbitration award against a South American country with respect to claims in excess of USD 250m relating to economic measures targeting the investor’s customs infrastructure investment.
• Representing a group of investors in a large-scale mining project in Eastern Europe in a USD 220m UNCITRAL investment treaty arbitration claim against the host State involving allegations of expropriation and breaches of the FET standard
• Representing the investor in PCA/UNCITRAL arbitration arising out of the expropriation of the claimant’s liquid petroleum gas infrastructure in Pakistan (jurisdiction only).
• Representing investors in an ICSID arbitration involving denial of justice claims against an East Asian country over its failure to pursue a fraud prosecution against its local partner arising out of a USD 50m investment in a copper, gold, and iron mining project.
• Advising foreign investors in countries such as Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Luxembourg, Mozambique, Norway, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UAE in relation to legal remedies under investment protection instruments.

International Commercial Arbitration

• Representing an entity within a large gambling group in a USD 600m ICC dispute arising out of a joint-venture partnership with a listed software group in relation to a project in LATAM.
• Representing the claimants in a USD 25m claim against a leading Thai wind energy company concerning the respondent’s refusal and/or failure to indemnify and keep indemnified the claimants in accordance with the terms of an indemnity agreement.
• Representing the claimant in an ICC commercial arbitration concerning engineering and prototype agreements manufactured in Europe and commercialised in China.
• Representing the respondent in an LCIA commercial arbitration in connection with a sales agreement for liquefied petroleum gas.
• Representing the defendants in a Section 68, English Arbitration Act challenge to set aside a LCIA award.

Civil Fraud, Asset Tracing & Recovery

• Representing the investment fund of Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili and his family in a dispute valued at USD 600m–USD 1.2bn against Credit Suisse entities for the recovery of losses arising out of mismanagement of his investment portfolio through a range of trust arrangements, which have led to criminal proceedings against the bank’s fund managers. This case involved parallel proceedings in Switzerland, Singapore, New Zealand and Bermuda.
• Representing the former executive management team of Wind Energy Holdings Limited, Thailand’s largest wind energy company, in defending a high-profile claim of over USD 800m. The claim gave rise to issues of fiduciary duty and highlights the complexities of cross-jurisdictional legal issues arising out of allegations of civil fraud. This case is featured in The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases of 2022.
• Representing joint administrators of a company involved in a massive cryptocurrency pyramid scheme that defrauded around 700,000 creditors. We are conducting and coordinating global asset tracing and recovery in the context of ongoing cross-border insolvency proceedings with the value of claims between GBP 500m and GBP 5bn.

Public International Law and International Human Rights

• Representing a politically persecuted South American individual in proceedings before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
• Advising an American state on its sovereign immunity rights in litigation before the courts of an European state in the context of a NATO military base; advising that same state on the possibility of bringing a claim before the International Court of Justice.
• Advising the same American state on its sovereign immunity rights in litigation before the courts of another European state in the context of an employment claim.
• Advising an African state on electoral best practices in light of its public international law obligations.
• Advising a Middle Eastern state on its international humanitarian law rights and obligations in the region.
• Advising a South American state on its obligations deriving from a judgment of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
• Representing an individual who seek leave to remain in the United Kingdom as a stateless person.
• Petitioning an African court against an abortion ban in light of the State’s obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other human rights treaties.
• Advising a non-profit organisation on strategic litigation before the courts of African state and before the East Africa Court of Justice on law reforms affecting the ability of the civil society in that state to self-organise as a non-profit entity.
• Working with the Alliance for Marriage in the Americas to ensure marriage equality through the Inter-American Human Rights System.

Investigations and White Collar Crime

• Representing DOJ-appointed independent monitor of a Brazil-headquartered international conglomerate operating in engineering, infrastructure and petrochemicals sectors.
• Managing a FCPA investigation for an international management consulting firm prompted by the “Luanda Leaks”.
• Managing a FCPA investigation for an international management consulting firm in connection with the investigations initiated by and the assassination of the Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.