Sandeep Bhalothia
Technology & payments lawyerDubai · 25.20° N 55.27° E · GST

Sandeep Bhalothia, technology and payments lawyer in Dubai: Money in motion.

Origin · Dubai, 2018

I’m Sandeep Bhalothia. I help payment products cross borders lawfully: the licences, the contracts and the compliance underneath them. Today I’m Director and Senior Counsel at Mastercard, on transfer solutions across 81 countries in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Read the career story Read my writing
By the numbers01 / 06
81

countries in my current remit, across Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.Roles held 2018–2026

AED2bn+

in financing and strategic deals closed.Roles held 2018–2026

20+

companies incorporated, across 10+ jurisdictions.Roles held 2018–2026

5

regulatory hearings abroad. Each closed without a penalty.Roles held 2018–2026

11

people in the legal team I built, starting as a team of one.Roles held 2018–2026

40%

less spent on outside counsel, 2023–24.Roles held 2018–2026

ExperienceWhere I’ve worked

Where regulation, contracts and technology meet.

  • Payments & cross-border regulationLicensing, renewals and filings for payment and remittance businesses; product counselling for domestic and cross-border transfers.
  • Commercial & technology agreementsRemittance, wallet, acquiring and gateway agreements; API, SaaS and IP licensing; joint ventures.
  • Digital assetsExchange operations, trading licences and fund structures. MSc in Blockchain and Digital Currency.
  • Corporate, M&A & governanceM&A from the UAE to Malaysia, 20+ incorporations, and board-secretary work.
  • Data protection, AML & KYCPrivacy and data governance, consumer protection, AML/KYC frameworks. CIPP/E and CAMS.
  • Legal operations & AISelf-service contract desks and AI agents that give lawyers back time for judgement.
Path2018 — now

Eight years, one thread: getting regulated products to market.

The full story
  1. 2018–19
    UAS International Trip Support
    In-house lawyer

    1,800+ agreements drafted and vetted in a year.

  2. 2019–24
    Augmented Era
    General Counsel

    Sole counsel to General Counsel; 20+ companies in 10+ jurisdictions.

  3. 2023
    Astra Tech
    Group Legal Counsel

    Commercial contracts for PayBy, BOTIM and Rizek.

  4. 2023–24
    Node.Law
    Founder & Managing Partner

    A freezing-order defence, fund licensing and digital assets.

  5. 2024–26
    Avrioc Technologies
    Group General Counsel & Board Secretary

    CBUAE licensing, M&A, and a seat on the operating council.

  6. 2026 — now
    Mastercard
    Director & Senior Counsel

    Transfer solutions across Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

WritingA monthly journal

Cleared & Settled

Notes on payments, fintech regulation and building with AI. Written in a personal capacity; the views are my own.

Latest · Legal ops & AI · 2 October 2026

Legal logic versus legal judgment. Thoughts I keep circling back to.

Most legal work is logic a machine can take a first pass at. What stays human is owning the call.

Read
LabThings I build

A lawyer who builds.

Shipped

The three-minute contract desk

Standard agreements released in under three minutes, on Monday.com, PandaDoc and Notion.

See the build In development

NDA review assistant

A model-agnostic first-pass reviewer, tested against real-world agreements.

See the build

Say hello.

For speaking or writing collaborations. I don’t give legal advice through this site.

sandeepbhalothia@outlook.com
LinkedIn

I’ll email you new pieces from Cleared & Settled, about once a month. Unsubscribe at any time. See the privacy notice.

I don’t give legal advice through this site.

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