Kartikey Mahajan
Partner | Dispute Resolution, White Collar Crimes & Investigations
- T: +65 9853 7464
- E: Write to me
education
- National Law University Jodhpur (B.Sc. LLB. (Hons.)
- Harvard Law School (LLM)
Kartikey Mahajan is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution practice group of Khaitan & Co. Kartikey joined the firm in 2022 to set up its Singapore disputes office. He currently splits his time between Singapore and the UAE.
Kartikey is qualified to practice law in India, England & Wales (where he has rights of audience for all courts) and the State of New York. He is also registered to appear before the DIFC Courts, ADGM Courts and the Singapore International Commercial Court (as a Registered Foreign Lawyer).
Prior to joining the Firm, Kartikey has worked with Magic Circle and White Shoe American law firms in London and Singapore. His practice focuses on international arbitration (both commercial and investment treaty), commercial litigation, white-collar crime defense, investigation, fraud, enforcement and global asset recovery issues.
He appears as lead advocate in his arbitrations, and as well as a co-counsel to international law firm. Kartikey is frequently called on as an expert on Indian law issues before international tribunals. He has also sat as arbitrator in a variety of matters under different governing laws (both as a sole and a wing arbitrator) with seats in London, Singapore, DIFC, Hong Kong and India.
He has also represented clients in commercial litigation with a cross-border element in various jurisdictions like India, London, New York, DIFC, Singapore, Hong Kong, Cyprus, and Iraq. He also advises on global enforcement matters with a particular emphasis on enforcement before India, English, the DIFC and Singapore courts.
He has acted on several internal and regulatory investigations (DOJ, SEC, MAS, SFO, FINMA, ED, SEBI, SFIO, EOW and CBI). His expertise in such matters extends to advising the client and senior management in all aspects of investigations starting from the internal fact-finding, strategy to engaging with the investigation agency, developing a defence strategy and also representation before the courts should the investigations lead to a trial. These investigations have been in relation to a wide range of alleged misconduct including corruption, money laundering, securities fraud, financial irregularities, accounting fraud, and employee misconduct. Kartikey also advises private equity and other multinational clients on white collar, fraud, AML, ABAC, sanctions, mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) and extradition related issues.
Kartikey publishes and speaks regularly on international arbitration, white collar crime, corporate governance, and financial regulation. Kartikey is a co-editor (along with Gaurav Pachnanda SC and Tenant, Fountain Court Chambers) of Thomson Reuters book on “Principles of Damages, Expert Evidence and Valuation in Commercial Disputes in India” which was published in December 2023. His experience spans private equity, oil and gas, renewable energy, infrastructure and construction, telecom and media industries.
Professional Affiliations
- Solicitor Advocate (with Higher Rights of Audience)
- State of New York
- Bar Council of Delhi
- Registered under Part II of DIFC Court’s Register of Practitioners
- Registered Foreign Lawyer, Singapore International Commercial Court
- SIAC Reserve Panel of Arbitrators
- Society of Construction Law – Joint Secretary
- IBA Commercial Arbitration Committee
Recognitions and Accomplishments
ALB Asia Super 50 Disputes Lawyers 2025.
“Future Star” by Benchmark Litigation for Singapore in 2025.
A Top 100 lawyer in Forbes India Legal Powerlist 2022 (above 10 years of work-ex category).
Kartikey has been acknowledged for his Arbitration Expertise in Who’s Who Legal South East Asia since 2023.
Kartikey has been acknowledged as a Global Elite list of Who’s Who Legal as a “Future Leader of arbitration” since 2020.
Global Elite Thought Leaders - Arbitration list of Who’s Who Legal in 2023.
Representative Matters
Kartikey Mahajan has represented and advised the following clients
Advised as lead counsel a private equity investor in a potential SIAC dispute with the founders concerning breaches of the non-compete, non-solicit and brand infringement related issues. Seat – Singapore. Indian law applied
Acting as a co-counsel for GoAir airlines in a SIAC arbitration against Pratt & Whitney concerning supply of defective engines by the later. Seat – London. English law applied
Acting as a co-counsel for a European pension fund in a SIAC arbitration in relation to enforcement of its shareholder rights in Indian SPVs and Singapore Holding company where it has almost equal ownership and control rights as its JV partner in the real estate space. Seat – Singapore. Singapore and Indian law applied
Represented Reliance Industries Limited against the Government of India in a UNCITRAL arbitration relating to cost recovery of explorations costs. Seat – India. Indian law applied
Represented InterGlobe Enterprises in an LCIA India arbitration relating to the ownership and management of IndiGo, India’s largest airline. Seat – New Delhi. Indian law applied
Represented Agility Public Warehousing Company K.S.C. in three parallel ICC arbitrations, multiple mediations, and a Beirut Chamber of Commerce arbitration (governed by Lebanese law) in relation to breaches concerning shareholders agreement and other transaction documents. Seat – DIFC. English law applied
Representing Kingdon Capital LLC in relation to investigation and proceedings before the Securities and Exchange Board of India arising out of the Hindenberg Report on Adani
Acted for BuilderAI – an AI company with operations in UK, USA, India and UAE to uncover serious financial irregularities in the company’s operations by conducting internal investigations into fictitious sales revenues, amongst other wrongdoings. Working as a co-counsel with an international law firm to respond to the DOJ subpoena
Acting for several distributor firms related to Vivo in their defence in an Enforcement Directorate trial relating to alleged Indian foreign exchange and money laundering violations
Advising a global crypto exchange on a continuous basis in relation to requests from law enforcement agencies in India and enforcement related issues
Advising a global crypto exchange on a continuous basis in relation to requests from law enforcement agencies in India and investigations for GST related issues by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence
Acting as a co-counsel for Term Loan Lenders in relation to enforcement related issues concerning their USD 1.2 billion credit in Byjus, including commencing insolvency proceedings in India and assisting in the New York, Florida and Delaware court proceedings. The matter also involved submitting a declaration of Indian law aspects before the Delaware courts
Represented a UAE based retail consultancy company against a UAE‑based hotel‑management company before DIFC Courts in a dispute arising from the breach of services agreement
Represented a Slovak entrepreneur and a DIFC Company against a European entrepreneur before DIFC Courts in a dispute involving claims of breach of fiduciary duties, professional negligence, and corporate governance across multiple jurisdictions
Represented a UAE based sovereign wealth fund in relation to exiting its investment in an Indian joint venture in the infrastructure space and the ensuing litigation before the Indian courts
Representing Panthera Resources in its claim concerning its investment in a gold mine against Republic of India under the India-Australia BIT
Publications
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News and Events
Kartikey Mahajan has featured in the following news and webinars
