Bhavesh Dattani
Partner at DWF
LinkedIn
Bhavesh Dattani is a Partner at DWF (Middle East) LLP, where he leads the firm’s Finance and Restructuring Practice in the Middle East based in Dubai. Bhavesh advises on Financial Services Regulatory and Financial Crime Compliance matters. A UK-qualified lawyer with over 20 years of experience, Bhavesh brings deep expertise in financial regulation, compliance, and cross-border advisory work across the GCC and international markets.
Prior to joining DWF, Bhavesh held General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officers roles at leading institutions including J.P. Morgan, Lehman Brothers, Nomura Securities and British Arab Commercial Bank plc. He has held Senior Management Functions (SMF16 and SMF17) in the UK and was an approved person with the DFSA (Dubai), QFCRA (Qatar), and CMA (Saudi Arabia)—a rare regulatory profile that enables him to advise clients across multiple jurisdictions with precision and authority.
Bhavesh founded DWF’s Middle East Financial Services Regulatory Practice in Dubai in January 2023, and under his leadership, the team has advised on a wide range of mandates including licensing, governance, AML/CFT frameworks, sanctions compliance, and regulatory matters. His clients include Bank of China, ICBC, AON, Vision Bank, Equiti Securities, and Standard Bank Group, among others.
He is also the founder and secretariat of the DIFC Chief Compliance Officers Working Group, a first-of-its-kind advocacy and policy association for DFSA-authorised firms. The group now includes over 40 member institutions including banks, brokers, private banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions and engages regularly with the DFSA on regulatory and policy developments.
Bhavesh’s recent work includes advising on the enforceability of digital banking contracts in ADGM, cross-border fund distribution in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and sanctions compliance for UAE-based broker dealers. He also contributes to the UAE’s Public/Private Partnership Committee (Sub-Working Groups) on AML/CTF, supporting national efforts to meet FATF standards.
In addition to his legal practice, Bhavesh leads DWF’s Diversity, Equality & Inclusion Committee in Middle East.
