As a testament to our commitment to serving clients with India-Singapore cross-border legal needs, we are proud to have been recognised by the India Business Law Journal as an ‘International Firm to Watch’ in 2024.
Mato Kotwani
- Partner
- Advocate & Solicitor (Singapore)
Mato Kotwani is a partner at PDLegal LLC and leads the firm’s Criminal & Regulatory Practice. His work spans white-collar defence, complex commercial litigation, employment disputes, and corporate regulatory advisory. He acts for a broad spectrum of clients ranging from individuals and founders to SMEs, listed entities, and multinational corporations — in high-stakes disputes and investigations.
Mato leads his team in handling complex commercial and criminal litigation, particularly those involving serious reputational risk, cross-border dimensions, or novel points of law. He is regularly instructed to act as lead counsel in matters before the State Courts, High Court, and Court of Appeal.
In recognition of his achievements, Mato was named one of Singapore’s Rising Stars in 2024 by Asian Legal Business.
Practice Areas
White-Collar, Serious Crime and Regulatory DefenceMato represents both individual and corporate clients facing investigation or prosecution for offences such as corruption, money laundering, cheating, cybercrime, as well as sexual and violent offences. He also advises and defends clients charged under statutes administered by government agencies and regulators including
- Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
- Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA)
- Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA)
- Singapore Customs
- Maritime and Port Authority (MPA)
- National Environment Agency (NEA)
Commercial & Corporate Litigation
Mato regularly acts in a wide range of complex commercial disputes, including matters involving international trade, cross-border contractual claims, and disputes arising from joint ventures, distribution agreements, and franchise arrangements. He frequently advises on internal company conflicts, such as shareholder oppression, breaches of directors’ duties, minority shareholder rights, and claims involving mismanagement or diversion of corporate opportunities.
Employment Law & Investigations
Mato advises on all aspects of employment law, from internal investigations and regulatory compliance to dispute resolution. He has represented clients in wrongful dismissal claims, sexual harassment cases, and disputes over restrictive covenants and fiduciary duties. He was appointed by the World Bank as an expert contributor to its 2024 and 2025 Business Ready Reports, providing insights on Singapore’s employment regulatory regime.
He also conducts training and masterclasses for HR professionals, in-house counsel, and business leaders across the region.
Regulatory & Corporate Advisory
Mato provides strategic advice on data protection, corporate governance, and regulatory risk. He works closely with senior management and in-house legal teams to design frameworks for compliance and risk mitigation. His advisory work spans M&A transactions, corporate structuring, and sector-specific obligations under Singapore law.
Qualifications
University of Tasmania, LL.B.
Speaking engagements
Memberships
- Member, Law Society of Singapore
- Member, Singapore Academy of Law
- CLAS Merits Test Panel, Law Society Pro Bono Services
- Mato Kotwani recognised in Asian Legal Business’ (ALB) Singapore Rising Stars rankings 2024
Mato Kotwani recognised in Asian Legal Business’ (ALB) Singapore Rising Stars rankings 2024
We are proud to announce that our Partner, Mato Kotwani has been recognised in Asian Legal Business’ (ALB) Singapore Rising Stars rankings 2024. The list identifies the country’s most promising legal talents.
Mato joins the ranks of our partners, Gerard Quek and Andrew Lee who were also recognized in ALB Asia’s 40 Under 40 Lawyers list in 2021 and 2017 respectively. This is testament to PDLegal’s commitment to grooming the future leaders of our field.
For more information, please click here
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Highlights
- Acted for a company involved in disputes with numerous other financial institutions who were claiming against the company for aggregate sums in excess of US$30 million. This dispute involved elements of fraud by a listed company and cross-border issues involving multiple other parties.
- Acted for directors of a private equity fund, who were sued by the judicial managers of the fund for, inter alia, breach of directors’ duties and unlawful means of conspiracy, for an aggregate sum of US$40 million.
- Represented a distressed company in an application for a moratorium under the former section 211B of the Companies Act. The company was involved in telecommunications systems engineering and operated in Asia Pacific and the Middle East. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they faced a significant cash-flow crunch, which resulted in multiple claims by both trade and institutional creditors. We successfully obtained a moratorium which prevented creditors from commencing or continuing legal proceedings against the company during the moratorium period.
- Acted for a Plaintiff in a High Court suit involving fraud, misrepresentation and unlawful means conspiracy. The Defendants had through various misrepresentations and fraud induced the Plaintiff to invest monies into a financial product. The Plaintiff’s case was that the Defendants then used the investments to pay themselves exorbitant salaries and eventually depleted all funds invested.
- Acted for a Plaintiff (tenant) in a High Court suit involving a claim in misrepresentation against the landlord and property agent of a commercial property. The defendants had misrepresented that the commercial property was approved by URA for use as a restaurant.
- Represented a client who had contributed more than 95% of the purchase price of a HDB property. The second owner had contributed less than 5% of the purchase price and several years later tried to claim an almost equal share of the flat. Successfully obtained orders from the High Court for a sale of the flat with the sale proceeds to be divided in the proportion of 95% in favour of our client.
- Advised foreign clients on cross border issues such as enforcing of foreign judgments in Singapore as well as the taking of evidence in Singapore to assist in foreign proceedings.
- Acted for and advised numerous accused persons involved in prosecutions under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA). These charges involved offences relating to the corrupt solicitation or receipt of gratification, abetment of offences under the PCA as well as cases involving the making of false statements under the PCA.
- Acted for individuals charged under the Customs Act and the Good and Services Act for tax evasion.
- Acted for and advised individuals and companies charged under the Income Tax Act for numerous offences including making false statements relating to PIC claims and failure to file annual returns.
- Represented accused persons charged with various types of financial crime (theft, criminal breach of trust, money-laundering related offences under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act (CDSA))
- Acted for individuals charged with violence related offences.
- Acted for the accused person in PP v Shawalludin bin Sa’adon. The accused person was initially charged with murder. Charges were successfully reduced to voluntarily causing grievous hurt and secured a sentence of 5 ½ years imprisonment for the offender.
- Acted for an individual charged with causing hurt using a dangerous weapon. Through negotiations with the prosecution, obtained a reduction in the charge to voluntarily causing hurt. Successfully secured a lower sentence in Court as the victim had provoked our client.
- Acted for accused persons charged with various sexual offences including outrage of modesty, voyeurism and other sexual offences. Also acted for an accused person who was a nurse at the Institute of Mental Health and had committed a series of sexual offences against patients and ex-colleagues. Link
- Acted for individuals charged for various traffic related offences including dangerous driving, negligent driving causing death and driving whilst under disqualification.
- Regularly advise both employees and employers on employmentrelated matters. This includes drafting and advising clients on employment contracts, acting for and advising clients in employment related disputes including wrongful termination and/or unfair dismissal and dismissal on grounds of serious misconduct. Mato also advises clients including employees at middle management and C-suite management on enforceability of restrictive covenants including non-compete/non-solicitation clauses.
- Advise businesses on data protection obligations. This includes reviewing the company’s current PDPA policies and structuring appropriate defensive policies to ensure compliance during the employee or vendor’s period of employment but also to ensure that employees and vendors continue to protect core interests post-service.
- Landplus Property Network v Y.H.H. Marine Engineering Pte Ltd [2024] SGDC 280 – Successfully defended a claim for commissions from a S$9.5 million property sale, addressing complex issues in contract and agency law.
- PP v CPS [2024] SGCA 59 – Acted as lead counsel in a novel case before the High Court and Court of Appeal, addressing reformative training for young offenders charged with serious sexual crimes, with significant implications for sentencing in sexual offence cases.
- Bybit Fintech Ltd v Ho Kai Xin & Ors [2023] 5 SLR 1748 – Acted as part of a team for the Claimant in this seminal decision resulting in the High Court finding for the first time that crypto assets met the definition of ‘property’ and was capable of being held on trust.
- Taking of Evidence in Aid of Foreign Proceedings – Lead counsel in an application for evidence under the Evidence (Civil Proceedings in Other Jurisdictions) Act, dealing with complex cross-border issues related to shipping standards and quality control.
- Public Prosecutor v Dinesh s/o Rajantheran [2023] SGDC 39- Achieved a full acquittal for a client charged with bribery of judicial witnesses, challenging the credibility of key prosecution evidence.
- Oleo Chem Far East Pte Ltd – Represented a distressed company in defending against claims exceeding US$30 million.
- Large Scale Excise Duty Evasion – Lead counsel defending a co-accused in a large-scale excise duty evasion case, resulting in a favorable sentence amidst complex regulatory issues. Link
- CPIB Prosecution – Acted as assisting counsel in a CPIB prosecution, successfully challenging the admissibility of confessions obtained under oppressive conditions.
- World Bank Expert Contributor on Employment Law – Appointed as one of four expert contributors on employment law in Singapore for the 2024 Business Ready Report, focusing on regulatory updates and best practices for businesses operating in the region.
- 3N Investments Group Ltd and another v Lim Boon Chye Victor and others [2023] SGHC 76
- Sng Jing Xiang Benjamin t/a Blink! Events & Entertainment v Xie Shun Heng and others and another suit – [2021] SGDC 248
- Public Prosecutor v Wong Poon Kay – [2023] SGDC 187
- Public Prosecutor v Allswell Marketing Pte Ltd – [2018] SGMC 48
- Ravindran s/o Kumarasamy v Public Prosecutor – [2023] 3 SLR 1343
- Jason Grendus v Stephen David Lynch and others – [2021] SGHC 191
- Wong Poon Kay v Public Prosecutor – [2024] 4 SLR 453
