Ivan Meleshenko is a partner at RGD. For over 15 years, Ivan has represented clients in a wide range of areas such as: dispute resolution, investigations, domestic and international tax issues, customs regulations, as well as corporate mergers and acquisitions. He has extensive experience in developing complex strategies aimed at solving corporate conflicts and commercial disputes, handling challenging cross-border proceedings, including parallel litigations and arbitrations in multiple jurisdictions, internal investigations and investigations of regulatory and law enforcement bodies, as well as asset tracing and recovery worldwide. In addition to the above, Ivan focuses on international investment arbitration: he represented foreign investors in the disputes arising out of the breach of investment protection treaties with the Baltic, Central and Eastern European, Central Asian and African states.
Prior to joining RGD, Ivan was a counsel at the Moscow office of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, and prior to that, an attorney at Hogan & Hartson and Noerr.
Primary Practice Focus: Dispute Resolution
Industry Sectors: Energy & Natural Resources, Retail & Real Estate, Industry & Transportation, Fintech & Financial Institutions
Languages: English, German, Russian
Representing a private client in a high-profile criminal investigations in an EU member state, in the course of which unprecedented in scale and media coverage investigative actions were successfully challenged and declared unlawful
Representing a private client in administrative proceedings in an EU member state against the claims of the agency responsible for the enforcement of sanctions, which included challenging a series of large-scale and high-profile searches aimed at seizure of assets blocked subject to sanctions
Providing comprehensive advice and legal representation to a private client in matters related to the protection of honor, dignity, and business reputation and general PR matters in a number of jurisdictions. Providing strategic guidance, coordinating foreign advocates/consultants outside of Russia (including the UK, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, France, Croatia, and etc.), and completing legal preparation for disputes concerning the protection of the client’s honor, dignity, and business reputation in foreign jurisdictions (with positive outcomes, including injunctions against foreign media in the client’s favor; signed cease-and-desist declarations, etc.). Developing comprehensive PR strategy, which included legal advice to the client and the client’s PR department, handling media relations, and preparing requests to publish responses and rebuttals
Representing PJSC Tatneft in US$380 million English litigation proceedings and a freezing injunction application in the High Court against four Ukrainian oligarchs – Messrs. Igor Kolomoysky, Gennady Bogolyubov, Pavel Ovcharenko and Alexander Yaroslavsky – in relation to huge and complex alleged cross-border fraudulent activities
Representing a Russian businessman in US legal proceedings initiated against a private individual on the basis of a claim for unjust enrichment
Representing one of the key shareholders of OJSC MegaFon in connection with a corporate dispute related to a proposed plan of asset combination in a number of regions
Representing a Russian businessman in arbitration proceedings against a Baltic country in connection with expropriation of assets and discrimination of investments in the financial sector
Representing an international group of companies in court and administrative bodies in five jurisdictions in connection with a corporate conflict and lawsuits arising out of embezzlement of the group companies' assets
Representing a Russian investment group in connection with considering the expediency and preparing the arbitration proceedings against a Central Asian Republic
Representing a private client in the mutual agreement procedure under a Double Taxation Treaty between the Russian Federation and an EU member state in connection with tax claims totaling more than half a billion euros
Advising on various tax planning aspects of the Russia's largest mining and metallurgical company’s US$6.3 billion acquisition of LionOre Mining International
Advising on international tax structures in connection with the sale of a majority stake and an option for full ownership of OOO NASTA Insurance Company to Zurich Financial Services Group
Advising Ford Motor Company on the tax aspects of the US$2.3 billion disposal of Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motor
Advice on the greenfield investment project of Volkswagen AG in Kaluga Region, representing the investor in negotiations with the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of the Russian Federation regarding tax and customs concessions
Ph.D., Moscow State Institute for International Relations (MGIMO), 2008
DL (with honours), Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), 2003
LLB (with honours), Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), 2002
Advocate, 2021
Russia, 2002
The Best Lawyers 2017-2022 – ranked among top Corporate, Customs and Excise, M&A and Tax lawyers in Russia
The Legal 500 "Arbitration Powerlist: CIS and Caucasus" - recommended among the leading arbitration experts of the region in 2020
Pravo-300 - recommended lawyers in International Litigation, International Arbitration
