Representative Experience

• Renewable Energy: Provided comprehensive legal support to Elias Th. Karagiannis (Cyprus) for the construction of the 100MWac M-KAT solar photovoltaic power plant in the Zhambyl Region, a project financed by the EBRD.
• Pharmaceuticals: Complex MAH transfer, legal support and documents review and preparation for one of the biggest European Pharm companies.
• Litigation & Dispute Resolution: Represented AsstrA Forwarding AG (Switzerland), House of Agriculture SPIROU S.A. (Greece), and Golden West Seeds (Bulgaria) in various instances of the Kazakhstani court system.
• Corporate Advisory: Advised Glovoapp23, S.L. (Spain), Urbasolar SAS (France), METKA EGN (UK), and Red Bull GmbH (Austria) on diverse legal and regulatory matters affecting their ongoing operations.
• Strategic Projects: Advised Tengri Holdings (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. on the Term Sheet for the Tengri Integrated Resorts Development Project, a high-profile agreement with the Ministry of Culture & Sport of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
• Regulatory & Customs Compliance: Counseled Coca-Cola İçecek (Turkey) on compliance matters involving the Eurasian Economic Commission regarding Technical Regulation No. 029/2012.
• Legal Research: Consulted for Thomson Reuters (USA) on the evolving legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Education & Qualifications

• LLM, Eötvös Loránd University
• MPA, Nazarbayev University
• LLB, KIMEP University
• Executive Education, National University of Singapore

Core Expertise

• Capital Markets & Fintech: Specialized in AIX instruments, REITs, Green Bonds, and Islamic Finance.
• Tax & Customs Litigation: High-stakes representation before the Supreme Court and State Revenue Authorities.
• Energy & Infrastructure: Legal oversight for $8Million+ petrochemical and renewable energy developments.
• M&A & Regulatory: Comprehensive due diligence and structuring for cross-border acquisitions.

Representative Experience

Capital Markets & Regulatory Design (AIX)

• Financial Instrument Innovation: As former Head of AIX Products and Markets, led the development of Junior Mining Listing Rules, Green Bonds, and Pre-IPO/IPO frameworks.
• REITs & Real Estate: Spearheaded the implementation of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) on the AIX, coordinating with major developers and international management companies.
• AIFC Compliance: Expert on the English Common Law based regime of the AIFC, including taxation benefits, market rules, and UK HMRC ‘recognized stock exchange’ status.

High-Value Tax & Dispute Resolution

• Supreme Court Victory ($14M): Successfully represented an international drilling servicing company in a major tax litigation, resulting in the reversal of $14 million in wrongful tax accruals.
• Supreme Court Victory ($1.2M): Secured a successful appeal for a global engineering services firm regarding tax accruals and branch profit allocation.
• Customs & Regulatory: Represented a leading Swedish industrial giant and a German confectionery leader on complex customs and contractual dispute resolution.

Energy, Petrochemicals & M&A

• $8 million Petrochemical Project: Advised the largest petrochemical group in Kazakhstan on investment contracts, government support, and intergovernmental agreements.
• Cross-Border M&A: Led legal due diligence and SPA negotiations for an international Telecommunications Group’s acquisition of a local operator.
• Subsoil Use & Mining: Conducted legal audits for Kazakhstani National Funds and major gas/oil companies regarding the acquisition of subsoil use assets and transport subsidiaries.
• Pharmaceuticals: Complex MAH transfer, legal support and documents review and preparation for one of the biggest European Pharm companies.

Corporate, Labor & Compliance

• Global Media & Fintech: Advised a major US-based financial data and media giant (Bloomberg/Thomson Reuters) on Kazakhstani regulatory matters and VAT legislation.
• HR & Compliance: Developed comprehensive employment and maternity policy frameworks for a global accounting body (ACCA) to ensure compliance with modern Kazakhstani labor laws.
• Banking & Finance: Advised the EBRD on the state budget allocation system and managed legal due diligence for a tier-one Kazakhstani bank merger.

Publications & Thought Leadership

Assel is a frequent contributor to international legal and financial discourse, with published works in:

• Bloomberg VAT Navigator (Kazakhstan Chapter)
• International Transfer Pricing Magazine
• World Justice Report

• Work with debtors and creditors. Preparation of balance sheets. Control over the flow of funds;
• Work with credit organizations of both Kazakhstani and international levels;
• Organization of accounting of economic and financial activities and control over the economical use of material, labor and financial resources, the safety of the company's property;
• Analysis of the financial and economic activities of the company's structural divisions, identification of efficiency reserves and development of measures to ensure a savings regime, increase profitability and reduce costs;
• Financial planning (monthly, quarterly, annual), participation in the development of the budget and control of its execution;
• Budget control, banking operations;
• Formation of reports (on cash flow, on income and expenses, management balance sheet);
• Organization of accounting of economic and financial activities and control over the economical use of material, labor and financial resources, Development and implementation of accounting in accordance with the peculiarity of the enterprise. Integration of cash flow from the cash desks of the bookmaker's office, which is more than 30 cash desks throughout Kazakhstan, into the 1C database for accounting, accruals and transfers to the budget. Preparation and submission of tax returns. Shareholder reporting. Working closely with the financial department, working with the IT department. Control and accounting of fixed assets;
• Accounting services, audit of companies of various types of activities from individual entrepreneurs in a simplified mode to international LLP (services, trade, work with securities, charitable foundations). Work with non-residents, customs union. Organization and management of the department of the company, distribution of duties, control of implementation.