Thomas Berger
Counsel
Luxembourg
Thomas Berger
Counsel
Luxembourg
Contact Details
Thomas heads the litigation department. He specialises in domestic and cross-border litigation and pre-litigation matters within the realm of civil, commercial and corporate law. He has a particular focus in banking law, including on professional liability in the financial sector, finance litigation, money laundering, “white-collar” criminal law aspects, etc. He also assists clients facing dawn raids. Thomas also specialises in regulatory matters involving professionals of the financial sector. In this context, he regularly advises on issues related to AML, PSD, MIFiD and banking secrecy.
Thomas is a member of the Legal Forum, the Payment Forum, the MiFID Forum and the Payment Services Directive II working group of the Luxembourg Bankers' Association (ABBL).
He is also an active member of our FinTech task force, supporting clients from established financial institutions, incumbents and start-ups in developing innovative products.Qualifications
Professional
Admitted as avocat à la Cour, Luxembourg, 2009
Admitted as avocat, Luxembourg, 2007
Academic
Master 2, International Business, University of Rennes I, France, 2006
Diploma, International Trade Law, Åbo Akademi University , Finland, 2004
Experience highlights
Advising several credit institutions on alleged white-collar crime and/or breach of their AML-FT obligations
Advising a famous technological company in a litigation dispute on unfair competition and theft of IP rights.
Advising an international leading independent provider of corporate, trust and fund services on an alleged major fraud case.
Advising several credit intuitions facing claims from their clients for breach of their professional obligations on the provision of investment services (alleged mismanagement of client’s assets, mis-advice on investment in financial instruments, incorrect execution of a client order) or of payment services (alleged incorrect or fraudulent execution of bank transfers).
News & insights
Publications: 29 JANUARY 2021
CSSF annual online survey on money laundering and terrorist financing risks
On 15 February 2021, the CSSF will launch its annual online survey for the year 2020 to collect standardised key information concerning money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) risks to which…
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Publications: 24 DECEMBER 2020
Update on the Luxembourg third country firms regime
In the framework of the third country firms regime applicable in Luxembourg in relation to investment services, Regulation CSSF N° 20-02 establishing a list of third countries deemed equivalent to…
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Publications: 02 OCTOBER 2020
GIR - data privacy & transfer in investigations
Regulators and enforcement authorities across the globe continue to focus on the activities of banks, corporations and their employees.
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Publications: 10 SEPTEMBER 2020
Podcast #2: AML/CTF – Recent Luxembourg developments: extraterritorial effects of the AML Act 2004
A common misconception often leads to the beliefbelieve that the AML Act 2004 only covers the Luxembourg territory and professionals established in Luxembourg.
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Qualifications
Professional
Admitted as avocat à la Cour, Luxembourg, 2009
Admitted as avocat, Luxembourg, 2007
Academic
Master 2, International Business, University of Rennes I, France, 2006
Diploma, International Trade Law, Åbo Akademi University , Finland, 2004
Recognition
Led by ‘very good’ counsel Thomas, Allen & Overy Luxembourg excels in handling domestic and cross-border disputes.
Legal 500, 2018
Thomas co-leads the team and is a key contact for the department.
Chambers Europe, 2017
Published work
“Auto-laundering: Luxleaks impact on suspicious transaction reporting”, European Finance Litigation Review, Dec 2016 (co-author)
“Repurchase of CPECS from shareholders is not illegal, rules Luxembourg court”, European Finance Litigation Review, March 2016 (co-author)
“Enforcement of Pledge over shares in Luxembourg, irrespective of whether secured debt is due”, European Finance Litigation Review, Nov 2015
“May individuals sue banks based on breaches of conduct rules?”, European Finance Litigation Review, Jul 2015
“Luxembourg court upholds pledge despite conflicting Spanish ruling and asymmetrical jurisdiction clause”, European Finance Litigation Review, Jun 2014 (co-author)
“Bank liability for forged transfer orders: Luxembourg Supreme Court puts an end to uncertainty on the duty of restitution”, European Finance Litigation Review, Feb 2014 (co-author)
“Le démembrement de propriété dans le compte bancaire“, Droit bancaire et financier au Luxembourg, Recueil de doctrine, ALJB, Anthemis/Larcier, 2014 (co-author)
