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Lusungu Gondwe

Lusungu Gondwe

Partner

Lusungu is the founding Partner of the Firm and leads the Banking and finance team at the Firm. He has versatile knowledge of the legal regulatory environment of all manner of banking and finance facts including but not limited to cross-currency swaps, foreign direct investments’ penetration in Malawi, syndications, commodity financing, structured finance, and securitizations of facilities in Malawi.

He has over the years gained gaining versatile, practical knowledge of negotiating and drafting multifarious instruments relating to import and export such as trade finance facilities including but not limited to confirmation of letters of letters of credit and standby letters of credit; direct advances to borrowers and borrowers’ suppliers for procurement of production of inputs; discounting of bills of exchanges and trade related promissory notes; packing credit/pre and post shipment finance and guarantees; buyer and supplier credit support facilities; factoring and supply chain financing; export credit guarantees; export contract availability guarantees; contracting-related guarantees [including retention guarantees]; specialized guarantees [including Intra-African Investment guarantees; inter-state transit guarantees; country risk guarantees; guarantees of government commitment to project promoters; market availability guarantees ie traffic guarantees; and capital market guarantees].

Lusungu has a working knowledge of import/export transactions between two or more African countries, trade-related remittances by a firm/corporate resident in one country to a firm/corporate of another country, import letters of credit and export letters of credit, short-term trade loans, issuance of irrevocable reimbursement undertakings, documentary collections from intra African trade foreign currency and local payments in Africa among others.

Lusungu’s knowledge base gained from training and practice with Afreximbank extends to all manner of structured trade facets including asset-based finance facilities and trade advisory services [ie trade information advisory services, market entry/penetration strategy advisory services and corporate debt management/restructuring services]. Lusungu has working knowledge of receivables finance gained from FCI Receivables Finance training, 2019 and Pan African Payment and Settlement Systems [PAPS].

 

Lusungu graduated from the University of Malawi and – like all lawyers at the Firm – earned admission to practice law in the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal, the High Court of Malawi and all courts and tribunals subordinate thereto. He has 14 years of extensive experience in dispute resolution services representing corporate clients both in the Court [litigation] and regulatory tribunals. He is a certified Arbitrator by the Chartered Institute of Arbitration. He is an alumnus of the Harvard Law School – Executive Education.

My work

Advising and conducting arbitration for joint venture of two multinational companies [one registered in India and another registered in United Kingdom] in their claim against Malawi Revenue Authority for the sum of no less than USD 6 000 000-00 on a contract sum of USD 13 000 000-00. MRA contended that the JV was not entitled to the USD 6 000 000-00 but the 3-panel arbitrator chaired by a Justice of Appeal in the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal made an favourable arbitral award to the JV.

Advising and conducting arbitration for Anderson Engineering Limited in its misunderstanding with Northern Region Water Board where a 2-member arbitration panel gave a favorable arbitral award to Anderson Engineering Limited.

Advising and conducting arbitration for OG Plastic Industry [2008] Limited [OG] leading to recovery of USD 1 500 000-00 from OG’s former Managing Director who had unjustly enriched himself.

Litigating for Zambia Cooperative Federation [ZCF] to recover the sum of over USD 1 600 000-00 from Agriculture Development and Marketing Corporation Limited [ADMARC]

Litigating for Admike Import and Export [Admike] to recover the sum of over USD 2 500 000-00 from ADMARC being consideration for maize that Admike supplied to ADMARC

Successfully representing a former Chief Executive Officer and a former Head of Corporate Banking in a commercial bank in Malawi in a claim against by the bank by way of third party proceedings in the bank’s attempt to fend off a claim against it by one of its customers for over USD 4 000 000-00.

Advising an international bank domiciled in London on a cross-currency swap transaction with the Reserve Bank of Malawi for the sum of USD 30 000-00.

Working together with a local firm of public accountants to advise on a public partnership transaction and concessional transaction leading to the establishment of Malawian Airlines Limited.

Working together with a local firm of public accountants to advise on investment incentives to be accorded to railway investment resulting from a concession agreement between the railway investor and the Government of Malawi.

Advising and conducting a Legal Due Diligence for purposes of Press Agriculture Limited obtaining finance facilities from Export Development Fund for the sum of up to USD 30 000 000-00.

Assisting Nasho Building Contractors will claiming damages against the Malawi Government for the latter’s breach of a construction contract.

Advising, negotiating, and structuring a deal for the joint venture of Midima Holdings Limited and Komoil Petroleum Limited to supply petroleum products to Petroleum Importers Limited and Nyasa Fuels Limited for sums in excess of USD 40 000 000-00.

Litigating for a Ghanain bank that invested on the Malawian financial market which was sued in Malawi by yet another Ghanain financial institution. We advised on conflict of laws and forum non-conveniens and the Court agreed that the Ghanaian financial institution had no business litigating in Malawi.