Expertise
Covering regulated financial services, transactions, private wealth and the disputes that follow.
All expertise
Founder and Managing Partner
Usaama specialises in corporate, commercial, financial services and regulatory matters, advising corporations, financial institutions, fund managers, family offices and investors on complex domestic and cross-border transactions.
Usaama Dauharry is the Founder and Managing Partner of Celerity Prime. He specialises in corporate, commercial, financial services and regulatory matters, advising corporations, financial institutions, fund managers, family offices and investors on complex domestic and cross-border transactions.
Since founding Celerity Prime in 2022, Usaama has led the firm's growth from a sole practice into a multidisciplinary team of legal professionals, establishing a strong reputation for excellence in corporate, financial services and regulatory matters. Under his leadership, the firm has become a trusted adviser to clients across multiple jurisdictions.
Usaama regularly advises on investment fund structuring, regulatory licensing, mergers and acquisitions, private wealth arrangements and cross-border investments. His experience includes acting as lead counsel on the establishment of a USD 1 billion note programme, advising on multi-million dollar investment structures and funds, and supporting transactions across Africa, India and the Middle East.
Combining technical expertise with commercial insight, Usaama is trusted by clients to navigate complex legal and regulatory challenges while helping them achieve their business objectives.
Beyond his professional commitments, Usaama enjoys golf and travelling, reflecting his curiosity and international outlook.
Representative experience
Matters from the firm’s practice in Usaama’s areas, described in anonymised form.
Acted as lead counsel on the establishment of a USD 1 billion note programme. Prepared note programme documentation for a protected cell company, including noteholder arrangements, placing agent documentation, investor-facing terms and issue mechanics.
Assisted with the establishment of a MUR-denominated retail fund platform structured as a Mauritius variable capital company with two open-ended sub-funds pursuing differentiated growth and income strategies. Prepared and refined the prospectuses, investment strategy and risk disclosures, governance framework, investor suitability provisions and FSC-facing documentation.
Assisted with multiple Payment Intermediary Services licence applications before the Financial Services Commission, including business plan drafting, transaction flow analysis, governance arrangements, outsourcing, AML/CFT frameworks, internal control documentation and responses to FSC queries.
Structured and documented a Central African Republic environmental and carbon-credit project, including the establishment of a Mauritius foundation, project SPVs, governance arrangements, shareholder agreements, service agreements and mechanisms for the management and deployment of climate-finance proceeds.
Insights
Most PIS applications are not delayed by the law. They are delayed by transaction flows that cannot be followed, outsourcing that is not documented, and control frameworks written for a business other than the applicant's.
6 min read
A purpose trust has no beneficiary to hold the trustee to account. The enforcer fills that gap — which makes the appointment, the powers and the succession arrangements far more consequential than they first appear.
6 min read