Anil Shergill

Anil is a Singapore-qualified lawyer with experience in advising on the full range of financial services regulatory matters. He has advised both global and local traditional financial institutions and fintech firms (including major banks, asset managers, exchanges, trading and settlement systems, financial intermediaries, insurers, financial advisers, payments firms, payment system operators, moneylenders, fintech companies and technology companies).

His experience includes advising on licensing regimes, securities/derivatives/cryptocurrency offering regimes and conduct of business obligations applicable to the full spectrum of financial-regulated or exempt entities. He has deep expertise in advising on regulatory matters and assisting to structure business models from a regulatory perspective relating to payments, cryptocurrency, banking, asset management, broker-dealer, financial advisory, securities/derivatives exchanges, and insurance set-ups.   

Anil is also regularly involved in reorganisations and acquisitions of financial institutions, preparation of filings, representations and other engagements with relevant regulators, and industry consultations on financial services regulations like the Securities and Futures Act, the Payment Services Act and the Financial Advisers Act to name a few.

Work highlights

• BondEvalue, the world’s first blockchain-based fractional bond trading platform on various aspects of business rollout and expansion in Singapore. 
• a global technology company on the acquisition of an applicant of a payment services licence in Singapore. 
• a global trading and settlement system on becoming an effective controller of a Registered Market Operator (RMO) in Singapore as part of a joint venture arrangement. 
• Hydra X, a Singapore-headquartered fintech company, on its Capital Markets Services (CMS) licence application and successfully obtaining final approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for its CMS licence, paving the way for HydraX to continue its foray into capital markets as one of the first movers in this space.
• SGX Marketnode, the SGX’s digital division, on a number of initiatives and projects relating to the digitization of the primary issuance process and the tokenization of capital markets products. 
• digital securities exchanges on the requirements applicable to being an RMO in Singapore, assisting such players to apply to the MAS to be a RMO under the Securities and Futures Act and advising on structuring operations to fall within particular regulatory frameworks.
• digital exchanges on the characterisation and structuring of digital tokens to be listed and traded on the organised market operated by the digital exchanges.
• Formula 1, the sporting team and crypto company, on the scope of permissible crypto brand advertisements during the Singapore Formula 1 race. 
• e-commerce platforms, airline company and postal services company on assisting to structure their business models to fit within applicable licensing regimes under the Payment Services Act, and successfully applying for appropriate licences.
• a large robo-advisory platform with reviewing and drafting terms and conditions of a robo-advisor with its clients for the rollout of new regulated businesses. 
• various cryptocurrency players on the regulatory implications of various dealing and trading set-ups, including on the requirements applicable to various types of cryptocurrencies e.g. security tokens, digital payment tokens, stablecoins, cryptocurrency derivatives, NFTs etc.  
• major international organisations, tech companies and payment intermediaries on its various payment processing arrangements, payments-related matters and rollout of payment businesses, including the implication of such businesses under the Payment Services Act and the feasibility of compliance with ongoing conduct of business obligations.

• Spent five years in the Financial Regulatory practice group at Allen & Gledhill from Dec 2015 to Dec 2020 (was a Senior Associate at time of leaving). 
• Presented to a global technology company on blockchain and its key use cases.

Anil holds an LL.B. from the National University of Singapore. 

• Co-author, Singapore Chapter, The Virtual Currency Regulation Review – Edition 1, The Law Reviews 
• Co-author, “FinTech in Singapore”, Business Law International (Vol 20 No 1)