News & Events

04Oct 21

OFAC Authorizes Humanitarian Aid to Afghanistan

OFAC issued two general licenses authorizing certain Afghanistan humanitarian aid and activities involving the Taliban or the Haqqani Network. The licenses authorize transactions otherwise prohibited by the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. part 594 (GTSR); the Foreign Terrorist Organization Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. part 597 (FTOSR); or, Executive Order 13224 of September 23, 2001, “Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Persons Who Commit, Threaten To Commit, or Support Terrorism,” as amended (EO 13224).
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30Apr 20

Hdeel Abdelhady- Sanctions Compliance in a State of Flux

MassPoint Legal and Strategy Advisory PLLC's Hdeel Abdelhady discussed sanctions trends and guidance, as well as issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, in a live event presented by the Association of Certified Financial Crime Specialists (ACFCS) and Accuity.
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29Jul 19

CFTC Corruption Crackdown Consistent With Trump Strategy, Says Hdeel Abdelhady

Ms. Abdelhady addressed how the CFTC's current investigation of Glencore and its broader anti-corruption plans might fit with the Trump Administration's wider anti-corruption strategy targeting the extractives industry globally, as well as the how the CFTC, which lacks direct FCPA enforcement authority, might take a page from the NYDFS' playbook and indirectly enforce an anti-corruption agenda under the Commodities Exchange Act.
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28Jul 19

Hdeel Abdelhady Talked to Payments Source on U.S. Dollar Alternatives

Hdeel Abdelhady shared her insights with PaymentsSource on a Russia-led effort to build a non-U.S. dollar payments system, to insulate against U.S. sanctions and U.S. control more broadly. Ms. Abdelhady has for years worked on the U.S.-dollar and financial system links to U.S. sanctions enforcement jurisdiction. Her work on the topic of U.S. dollar and financial system tied legal jurisdiction has been quoted, leveraged, and consulted frequently in the United States and abroad.
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22Jul 19

Hdeel Abdelhady Named American Bar Fellow

Hdeel Abdelhady has been named a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, a “global honorary society of attorneys, judges, law faculty, and legal scholars. Membership in the Fellows is limited to one percent of lawyers licensed to practice in each jurisdiction. Fellows are recommended by their peers and elected by the Board of the American Bar Foundation.
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26May 19

Hdeel Abdelhady on NPR: United States Ratchets Up Iran and North Korea Sanctions

MassPoint's Hdeel Abdelhady spoke with NPR about the ratcheting up of U.S. sanctions, secondary sanctions, and the potential consequences of sanctions overuse. To learn more about the mechanics of U.S. sanctions, and particularly about the role of the American dollar, financial system, and economy in extending the global reach of U.S. sanctions, read Hdeel Abdelhady's Reuters insight piece, Reimposed U.S. anti-Iran sanctions leverage American economic power.
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10Jan 19

Event: Critical Minerals, National Security, and Supply Chains

Now that the Trump Administration has declared a policy to reduce dependency on foreign sources for critical minerals, how will the Administration go about achieving its stated objective? What legal consequences—including in the areas of national security, trade, anti-corruption, and environmental law—might flow? Our multi-disciplinary panel will discuss the science and practical importance of “critical minerals,” recent and potential U.S. legal and policy developments, and the potential impacts of U.S. actions on minerals on manufacturing, supply chains, and the markets.
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06Dec 18

Hdeel Abdelhady: Property Rights in Space

MassPoint's Principal, Hdeel Abdelhady, presented on Rule of Law in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space at the annual Galloway Symposium on Critical Issues in Space Law. Ms. Abdelhady, along with her co-panelists, engaged in a comparative law discussion.
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08Nov 18

American Economic Power Fuels Sanctions

America's economic and financial heft facilitates the extraterritorial reach of U.S. sanctions and other law, writes Hdeel Abdelhady. For example, global transactions denominated in U.S. dollars and processed through the U.S. financial system create a jurisdictional nexus between the United States and foreign parties, property, and events.
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15Oct 18

U.S. Law as Trade War Weapon

The ZTE case puts into focus the Trump Administration’s apparent strategy to use U.S. sanctions, along with anti-corruption and anti-money laundering laws, as trade war weapons, specifically as “economic tools” and “tools of economic diplomacy” that “can be important parts of broader strategies to deter, coerce, and constrain adversaries.”
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29May 18

Hdeel Abdelhady Re-appointed Senior Adviser to American Bar Assn Middle East Committee

MassPoint Legal and Strategy Advisory is pleased to announce that Hdeel Abdelhady has been re-appointed to an additional one-year term as a Senior Adviser to the American Bar Association Middle East Committee, part of the ABA Section of International Law. A long-time member and leader of the ABA, Ms. Abdelhady will commence her 2018-2019 term in August 2018. Ms. Abdelhady, who was a Co-Chair of the Middle East Committee for three years until 2017, currently serves as a Senior Adviser to the Committee. In addition, Ms. Abdelhady is the ABA's Liaison to the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts (DIFC Courts) and serves on the Board of the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ROLI) Middle East and North Africa Council (ROLI MENA Council).
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12May 18

Hdeel Abdelhady Discussed the Michael Cohen Matter on MSNBC

Hdeel Abdelhady joined MSNBC's Ari Melber on May 9 to discuss developments in the Michael Cohen case, including Michael Avenatti's report purporting to contain details of Cohen's transactions with Novartis, AT&T, Viktor Vekselberg and others. Watch the segment here: MassPoint's Hdeel Abdelhady on The Beat With Ari Melber
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28Mar 18

United States Sanctions Corruption and Human Rights Abuses Globally

The financial penalties imposed by the Global Magnitsky Sanctions (and other U.S. sanctions programs) are powerful, as they effectively cut off sanctioned persons from the U.S. financial system and, substantially, U.S. dollar transactions. Given the size and centrality of the U.S. financial system to international commerce and payments, persons without access to U.S. banks and other constituent parts of the U.S. financial system are largely shut out of the international financial system (this assumes, of course, effective enforcement and compliance by U.S. authorities, banks and international financial system participants). Put in context, the United States’ Global Magnitsky Act and sanctions program are singular in their force. Other countries have adopted versions of a Magnitsky Act (including Canada, which has imposed sanctions under its law), but none of these other Magnitsky frameworks rival the potential sweep and impact of the United States’ Magnitsky framework.
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08Mar 18

Hdeel Abdelhady Discussed Islamic Finance at Harvard Law School

MassPoint’s Founder and Principal, Hdeel Abdelhady, will speak at a program on Islamic Finance at Harvard Law School. Ms. Abdelhady, who has acted as legal counsel to financial institutions, companies, and non-profit organizations on Islamic Finance, banking, and governance matters, teaches a course in Transactional Islamic Law at The George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C. The program, entitled “Islamic Finance: Principles and Strategies,” will take place on March 6, 2018 at the Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Program information is available via Harvard Law School.
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15Nov 17

MassPoint Named “Corporate Law Firm of the Year” USA in Finance Monthly Global Awards 2017

MassPoint Legal and Strategy Advisory PLLC (“MassPoint PLLC“), a boutique Washington. D.C. law and strategy firm, was named 2017 Finance Monthly’s Global Awards “Corporate Law Firm of the Year” for the United States.Finance Monthly is a “global publication delivering news, comment and analysis to those at the centre of the corporate sector.” “The Finance Monthly Global Awards recognise and commend financial organisations and advisors worldwide who have performed in the highest level possible and celebrate the success, innovation and quality of firms working in, and with, the financial and legal sectors across the globe.”
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06Nov 17

Hdeel Abdelhady to Speak on Managing Money Laundering, Trade Sanctions, and Corruption Risks

MassPoint’s Founder and Principal, Hdeel Abdelhady, will speak at a program on managing money laundering, trade sanctions, and corruption risks in business. The program, entitled “Know Your Business Partners: A Must to Managing Money Laundering, Trade Sanctions, and Corruption Risks,” will take place on November 17, 2017 in Washington, D.C. at the American Bar Association Business Law Section’s Fall 2017 Meeting.
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04May 17

Hdeel Abdelhady to Speak on Emerging Markets Social Impact Investment at NYU Law’s Grunin Center

MassPoint News Hdeel Abdelhady is due to speak about planning for and managing uncertainty in social impact investment, particularly in emerging markets. Ms. Abdelhady, who is MassPoint’s Founder and Principal, has 15 years of experience in transactions, disputes, and regulatory matters in and involving emerging and developing markets in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America.
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04Apr 17

Hdeel Abdelhady Appointed ABA Liaison to Dubai International Financial Centre Courts (DIFC Courts)

Hdeel Abdelhady has been appointed to serve as the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of International Law’s Liaison to the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts (DIFC Courts). Ms. Abdelhady, who is MassPoint’s Founder and Principal, has lived and worked in Dubai and previously worked in the DIFC and collaborated with DIFC entities. Ms. Abdelhady currently serves as a Co-Chair of the ABA Section of International Law’s Middle East Committee, which she has led for three years as a Co-Chair. She also serves on the Board of the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative’s Middle East and North Africa Council and as the ABA Section of International Law’s Liaison to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
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08Nov 16

Hdeel Abdelhady Quoted on U.S. Election Impact on Foreign Investment

Hdeel Abdelhady was quoted in Islamic Finance News, on the potential impact of the U.S. Election outcome on Islamic finance and investment in the United States. She said: “Trump’s rhetoric and proposals — such as the ‘Muslim ban’ (which is legally problematic and impracticable) and other politically opportunistic invocations of Islam and Muslims — would likely carry over and create an inhospitable environment for Islamic finance, including because Trump’s candidacy appears to have normalized, in some quarters, anti-Muslim, anti-‘other’ speech and conduct . . . even if Trump — a self-styled ‘dealmaker’ — were inclined to support wholly or partially Islamic investments in the US (such as the CityCenterDC mixed use development located less than a mile from both Trump’s recently opened DC hotel and the address to which he aspires, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue), the atmosphere and supporters he has cultivated as a candidate would likely be impediments.”
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01Sep 16

Muhammad Ali: Self-Made Man and Internationalist Who Was Beloved in the Middle East Made His Mark on American Law

It has been reported that Muhammad Ali’s final resting place is marked with a gravestone that bears only his name. “In keeping with [the] Muslim tradition” of simple funerary practices, “there are no dates or loving tributes.” This is most appropriate, as Muhammad Ali needs no special inscriptions or tributes. The name he chose for himself as a young man is the epitaph that describes him best. “Worthy of all praises, most high.”
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06Oct 11

Egypt Needs a Mindset Revolution (to transition economically)

Ultimately, the success of Egypt's political transition will be measured not at the ballot box, but at the breadlines. Egypt needs a national economic vision to transform its political aspirations into reality. But first the country must undergo a national mindset revolution. Egyptians must ask themselves and their leaders the clichéd question: where do they see themselves in the next five, 15, or 50 years? Will Egypt remain a foreign aid recipient whose fortunes twist in unpredictable political winds? Will its economic path continue to be paved with off-the-rack structural adjustments thought up in the halls of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund? Will Egyptians continue to accept -- and expect -- economic mediocrity? The answers, and Egypt's future, will depend on the health of the national mindset.
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