Rahul Sud

Rahul Sud is a Senior Associate at ASAR – Al Ruwayeh & Partners, based in Bahrain. He has nearly two decades of multi-jurisdictional experience advising financial institutions, corporations, and investors across Bahrain, Singapore, India, and Qatar. His practice focuses on banking and finance, with particular strength in structured finance, debt capital markets, project finance, Islamic finance, and fintech.
Rahul regularly advises on complex cross-border financial transactions, financial restructurings, Islamic finance structures, and regulatory compliance within Bahrain’s financial services framework. He has developed a unique blend of legal and technical expertise in the fintech and broader technology sectors, advising clients on payment services, digital banking platforms, data privacy frameworks, and the evolving regulatory landscape governing financial technologies. His master’s degree in information technology further supports his ability to bridge legal and technical considerations in these fast-moving areas.
His ability to bridge the gap between financial regulation and technology makes him a valuable advisor to clients operating at the intersection of finance and innovation. Rahul provides clear, commercially focused advice on structuring, compliance, and risk, supporting clients as they navigate sophisticated financial transactions and evolving regulatory environments across the GCC.

• Asset finance
• Banking
• Capital markets: Derivatives
• Capital markets: Equity
• Capital markets: High yield
• Financial restructuring
• Financial services regulatory
• Hedge funds
• Investment funds
• Islamic finance
• M&A
• PPP/PFI
• Project development
• Project finance
• Real estate finance
• Real estate funds
• Restructuring and insolvency
• Securitisation
• Structured finance/securitisation
• Trade finance

• Aviation
• Banking
• Financial services
• Government and public policy
• Insurance
• Investment management
• Media
• Technology and telecommunications

• Rahul worked as part of ASAR’s team advising on a BHD 363 million acquisition executed via block sale on the Bahrain Bourse, representing 20.62% of a listed entity’s share capital. The transaction ranks among the largest in the exchange’s history.
  
  
• Rahul was part of ASAR’s team representing a regional bank as lender’s counsel in relation to a USD 187.7 million facility. The team ensured that the security interest was properly perfected, highlighting our thorough understanding of Bahraini law, addressing and resolving differing views between counsel on local security creation and perfection requirements.
  
  
• Rahul contributed to ASAR’s representation of a major industrial borrower in securing a USD 450 million facility comprising both conventional and Murabaha tranches. The transaction was aimed at refinancing existing facilities, funding capital expenditures, and addressing other general corporate needs. The team advised on the requirements for security registration and perfection, which encompassed industrial land leased from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and a business premises mortgage.
  
  
• As part of ASAR’s team, Rahul acted as lender’s counsel on a USD 1.5 billion senior unsecured sustainability-linked term loan facility extended to the Government of Bahrain.  This substantial loan was acquired to support general budgetary purposes and was structured as a dual-tranche facility, encompassing both conventional and Islamic formats, and linked to sustainability goals.
  
  
• Rahul worked alongside ASAR colleagues in advising a leading financial institution on the full spectrum of legal and regulatory matters for the launch of its mobile-only digital banking platform in Bahrain.

• Registered as patent agent with the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks, India, 2013
• Member of the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa, India, 2005
• Master of Laws (LLM) in Corporate and Financial Services Laws, National University of Singapore, 2009
• Masters of Science in Information Technology (MSc. IT), Sikkim Manipal University, India, 2008
• Bachelor of Laws (LLB), Symbiosis Society’s Law College (Pune), India, 2005