Experience

Marina has acted on major ASIC investigations and enforcement proceedings involving financial services misconduct, AFSL obligations, misleading or deceptive conduct, unlicensed conduct, consumer credit laws and alleged Ponzi schemes. She has worked inside ASIC enforcement teams on both the ASIC investigation and subsequent litigation.

• Acted for ASIC in a criminal investigation into Maliver Pty Ltd and Melissa Caddick concerning alleged unlicensed financial services activity and misuse of investor funds: Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Caddick [2021] FCA 1443.More
  The matter involved coordinated urgent applications: asset preservation orders, travel restraint orders, search warrant execution, and applications for the appointment of receivers and provisional liquidators to protect investor funds.
• Acted for ASIC in an investigation and civil penalty proceedings alleging misleading or deceptive conduct and false or misleading representations concerning promised discounts for NRMA Insurance customers: Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Insurance Australia Limited, in the matter of Insurance Australia Limited [2023] FCA 724.
• Acted for ASIC in civil penalty proceedings concerning alleged failures by an AFSL holder in the context of a wholesale ‘licensee for hire’ business: Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Lanterne Fund Services Pty Ltd [2024] FCA 353.
• Acted for ASIC in civil penalty and disqualification proceedings concerning alleged unlicensed credit activity and breaches of consumer credit laws: Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Green County Pty Ltd [2025] FCA 367.
• Acted for ASIC in an investigation concerning a fraudulent foreign exchange trading scheme involving alleged misappropriation of investor funds: Mark Francis McCabe.
• Acted for ASIC in its investigation of Tony Iervasi and the Courtenay House FX trading scheme, which led to conviction for conducting an unlicensed financial services business and dishonest conduct: R v Iervasi (Sentence) [2024] NSWSC 1116.
• Lead author of the s1323 chapter of ASIC’s updated internal enforcement manual (2022), concerning the power of the Court to prohibit payment or transfer of money, financial products or other property under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).

Marina has acted in commercial litigation, appeal proceedings, urgent asset-preservation work, award enforcement proceedings and disputes involving directors’ duties, professional duties, payment claims and cross-border enforcement.

• Acted for Energy Charter Treaty / ICSID award creditors in Federal Court enforcement proceedings against the Kingdom of Spain concerning awards of AUD 209 million and AUD 183 million: Eiser Infrastructure Limited v Kingdom of Spain [2020] FCA 157 and Infrastructure Services Luxembourg S.A.R.L & Anor v Kingdom of Spain [2019] FCA 1220.
• Acted for appellants in five Victorian Court of Appeal proceedings arising from a failed initial public offering, including claims concerning directors’ duties, retainer issues and related costs appeals: United Petroleum Australia Pty Ltd v Herbert Smith Freehills [2020] VSCA 15; United Petroleum Australia Pty Ltd v Hudson [2020] VSCA 14.
• Acted for an Australian registered foreign mining company resisting garnishee attachment of assets following enforcement of an ICSID award in Australia: Lahoud v The Democratic Republic of Congo (No 2) [2018] FCA 478.
• Advised a renewable energy company concerning a contested payment claim under an EPC contract and the application of security of payment legislation during construction of a 189MWp solar farm, then the largest in Australia.

Marina has acted in high-value commercial arbitrations under major institutional rules, including ICC, CIETAC, HKIAC, BANI and ad hoc arbitration rules, across seats in Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Madrid and Sydney.

• Acted in a pharmaceutical licensing dispute under ICC Rules, German law and a Frankfurt seat, with an amount in dispute exceeding USD 5 billion.
• Acted in a luxury licensing dispute under CIETAC Rules, Hong Kong law and a Hong Kong seat, with an amount in dispute of EUR 3.95 million.
• Acted in a major infrastructure construction dispute under HKIAC Domestic Rules, Hong Kong law and a Hong Kong seat, with an amount in dispute of HKD 122 million.
• Acted in a sale of goods dispute connected with a major Australian energy infrastructure project under ICC Rules, Spanish law and the CISG, with an amount in dispute of USD 14.7 million.
• Acted in an arbitration concerning onshore drilling services under BANI Rules and Indonesian law.
• Acted for two Australian sports governing bodies in an ad hoc arbitration under Resolution Institute Rules, Australian law, Sydney seat.
• Advised a French entity concerning a force majeure event at a power station in Mauritius.

Marina has acted in investment treaty arbitration and arbitral award enforcement proceedings under the ICSID Convention, the Energy Charter Treaty and UNCITRAL rules. Her work in this area includes world-first enforcement of intra-EU ECT awards and the first ICSID award enforced in Australia.

• Acted for Energy Charter Treaty / ICSID award creditors of AUD 209 million (EUR 128 million) and AUD 183 million (EUR 112 million) in enforcement proceedings in Australia against the Kingdom of Spain: Eiser Infrastructure Limited v Kingdom of Spain [2020] FCA 157 and Infrastructure Services Luxembourg S.A.R.L & Anor v Kingdom of Spain [2019] FCA 1220.More
  Spain pleaded sovereign immunity from the jurisdiction of Australian courts. These were the first intra-EU Energy Charter Treaty awards enforced anywhere in the world. Work involved researching, developing argument and co-drafting the public international law submission in support of enforcement.
• Acted for an Australian registered foreign mining company in resisting attachment by garnishee order of an enforced ICSID arbitral award to its assets in Australia. The matter concerned the first ICSID award enforced in Australia. The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was the award debtor: Lahoud v The Democratic Republic of Congo (No 2) [2018] FCA 478.
• Acted for a UK investor in an ICSID annulment proceeding, defending against an annulment application brought by the Government of Venezuela challenging a USD 98 million award for the expropriation of a cattle farming business: Vestey Group Ltd v Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (ICSID Case No. ARB/06/4) Decision on Annulment (26 April 2019).
• Acted for an investor in an UNCITRAL investment arbitration against the Government of Yemen concerning alleged discriminatory treatment of Sabafon, a GSM telephony services company: Sabafon v Republic of Yemen (UNCITRAL).
• Acted for the investors in an UNCITRAL investment arbitration against the Government of Venezuela for alleged expropriation of the claimants’ food distribution business: García Armas and others v Venezuela (I), PCA Case No. 2016-08.
• Advised on pre-arbitral procedural steps including on the local litigation requirement under the Turkey–Turkmenistan Bilateral Investment Treaty.
• Advised on enforcement prospects to enforce an arbitral award against the Libyan state in light of the unstable post-conflict political situation, including the existence of competing governments of Libya and UN and EU sanctions.
• Advised on jurisdictional issues in the context of prospective claims under the Venezuela–Germany Bilateral Investment Treaty in light of Venezuela’s denunciation of the ICSID Convention.
• Advised an Australian oil and gas major on dispute resolution clauses in its renegotiated joint operating agreement and related contracts in respect of the Greater Sunrise gas field following the renegotiation of the maritime boundary in the Timor Sea.
• Advised a global energy major on dispute resolution options with respect to a potential dispute with the Government of Papua New Guinea.

Marina’s public international law experience includes sovereign immunity in arbitral award enforcement, WTO dispute work and UNFCCC-related advice.

• Work involved researching, developing argument and co-drafting the public international law submission in support of enforcement of ICSID awards against the Kingdom of Spain in the Federal Court of Australia: Eiser Infrastructure Limited v Kingdom of Spain [2020] FCA 157 and Infrastructure Services Luxembourg S.A.R.L & Anor v Kingdom of Spain [2019] FCA 1220.
• Advised on and drafted the governing law clause for one of the project finance modality types for an operating entity of the Financial Mechanism under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• Australian law advice for the Appellate Body stage of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) plain packaging dispute brought by the Government of Honduras against the Government of Australia: Australia — Tobacco Plain Packaging (Honduras).