Armando’s practice spans the full spectrum of commercial and international disputes, encompassing complex civil fraud, international arbitration (commercial and investor-state), asset recovery and enforcement, and cross-border and offshore litigation. He has particular sectoral expertise in banking and finance, energy and natural resources, extractive industries, infrastructure, and commodities.
Armando is ranked as a Leading Junior in both Civil Fraud and International Arbitration in The Legal 500. Since joining the Bar, he has acted as counsel (led or unled) in the High Court, the Court of Appeal, and in international arbitrations, instructed by leading City law firms. He is regularly instructed on matters involving contested allegations of civil fraud, bribery and corruption, or money laundering, and his cases often involve a cross-border element or raise complex issues of private or public international law.
His current caseload includes acting as counsel for one of the defendants in Public Institution for Social Security v Al Rajaan, a claim brought by Kuwait’s sovereign pension fund involving bribery and money laundering allegations, and valued at more than £1 billion. It is one of the longest and largest fraud disputes ever heard in the Commercial Court, and one of The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases for 2025. Armando is also instructed in several other active High Court proceedings, including (among others) a complex conspiracy claim in which he acts for multiple defendants, various claims for breach of fiduciary duty arising from the alleged receipt of secret commissions, and a claim against a UK government department. Armando has also recently acted in a shareholders’ dispute in the Commercial Court and has been involved in advising clients in relation to various proceeds of crime (POCA) and cryptocurrency issues.
Armando’s international practice is equally active. He presently acts as counsel in five investor-state arbitrations, including arbitrations on foot (one of which is an ongoing ICSID annulment) and matters at the pre-action or dispute notice stage. He is also representing a group of appellants in proceedings before the United Nations Appeals Tribunal (UNAT). He is also advising on English law issues in civil proceedings in Spain.
Armando is a co-editor of International Evidence: The Law and Practice of Cross-Border Evidence Gathering, a comprehensive multi-jurisdictional practitioners’ textbook on cross-border evidence, forthcoming from Kluwer International in 2026.
Armando brings over a decade of dispute resolution experience to his practice at the Bar. Before joining the Bar, he was an arbitration and commercial litigation specialist at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan in London, and previously at McDermott Will & Emery and Watson Farley & Williams. He was a recommended lawyer in The Legal 500 (UK) for both international arbitration and commercial litigation, in which he was described by clients as a “superstar” with “extraordinary” intellectual capabilities. He began his career at Chapman Tripp in New Zealand, where he often appeared as counsel in the High Court of New Zealand and in the Court of Appeal.
As an experienced former solicitor, Armando is approachable and collaborative, understands the demands clients place on law firm professionals, and is adept at working as part of a cohesive team.
