Miguel Vaz

I co-head the firm's Financial Services Group. I specialise in competition law, investigations, and risk management. I advise multinationals, corporates and private equity/investment funds on merger control filings, foreign direct investment (FDI) and other regulatory aspects of mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic alliances, and restructurings.

In my investigations practice, I have represented financial institutions and large corporations in landmark competition law investigations across the globe, including the airfreight, auto parts, foreign exchange rates and credit default swap. Given my past in-house experience, I regularly act for financial institutions and large corporates on regulatory investigations covering financial and white-collar crime, anti-money laundering and bribery and corruption.

Before joining Fieldfisher, I was a Senior Associate at a US law firm, worked as Head of Competition Law and Investigations at global investment banks in London and Singapore, and as a competition counsel at the European Commission in Brussels. I am qualified in the UK, Portugal, Belgium and Brazil and speak fluent Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French and English.

Representative Matters

Merger Control and Foreign Direct Investment

• Secured Phase 1 European Commission merger clearances for: a major combination in the food processing sector; two UK power line operators; and two leading digital marketplaces.
• Advised various third parties on European Commission and CMA complex Phase 1 and Phase 2 merger reviews, including UPS/TNT, Deutsche Börse/ NYSE, Three UK/O2, LAN/TAM Airlines, London Stock Exchange/Refinitiv, and AON/Willis Towers Watson.
• Advised two global healthcare businesses on the competition aspects of a joint venture in the consumer healthcare space.
• Representing two private equity businesses on various strategic acquisitions and joint ventures across Europe and the Middle East.
• Advised a private equity fund on the first ever retrospective FDI review under the UK National Security and Investment Act and subsequent judicial review proceedings.
• Obtained multiple FDI clearances for clients across the UK and Europe.

 Competition / Antitrust Investigations

• Acted for an Asian airline in the global airfreight cartel investigation.
• Represented a French auto parts manufacturer in the auto parts cartel investigation.
• Acted for UK, EU and US investment banks in the foreign exchange rates, credit default swaps and loan syndication cartel investigations.
• Advised a financial institution on follow-on actions and related settlements of the foreign exchange rates investigations in the US.

Corporate Investigations

• Advised a financial institution in relation to several internal and external anti-money laundering investigations across the globe.
• Acted for a bank on a landmark sanctions investigation in the EU and US.
• Advised financial institutions and other corporate entities on high-profile internal and government regulatory investigations, including in relation to anti-money laundering, fraud, white collar crime, governance and senior management accountability.
• Implemented a global whistleblowing programme and hotline for several businesses in the energy, healthcare, telecom, and retail sectors.