Alexey Myagchenkov

Founder, Managing Partner

Alexey has spent twenty-five years in legal practice and advises on corporate, commercial and regulatory matters across e-commerce, fashion, retail, real estate and technology.

He founded SOVA in 2022 after two decades in senior in-house roles, most recently as Head of Legal for the Middle East and global Head of Compliance at a major international e-commerce group, where he built the legal and compliance function across more than ten jurisdictions and carried it through a New York listing. Before that he was Legal Director on a landmark Olympic resort development, and led legal and compliance for a major fashion platform.

At SOVA he leads the firm and its most complex mandates, acting as counsel to international businesses in the UAE and the wider Gulf: corporate projects, mergers and acquisitions, compliance programmes and the commercial questions that follow.

Areas of expertise

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Legal Director on the development of an Olympic resort valued at approximately USD 2.8bn, encompassing construction, hospitality, retail and ski infrastructure — including the structuring of a USD 1.9bn public–private partnership and the management of legal affairs across 500 land plots and 860 hectares.
Structured and executed the joint venture that established a Middle East luxury e-commerce business trading at USD 300m GTV, negotiating the shareholder agreement, governance architecture and local regulatory compliance.
Built the legal and compliance function of a 6,000-employee group across more than ten jurisdictions, delivering an IPO-ready compliance programme through and beyond a New York listing.
Acted on the acquisition of a luxury brand platform at approximately USD 675m enterprise value, together with a sneaker marketplace (~USD 250m) and an augmented-reality technology business (~USD 15m), covering cross-border regulatory, intellectual property and tax workstreams.
Led the unwind of that same Middle East joint venture (USD 30m+), negotiating the partner's exit and the termination of outstanding options without recourse to litigation.
Executed a USD 40m industrial carve-out spanning two UAE free zones, drafting dual sale and purchase agreements under English law with LCIA arbitration, and managing the transaction from signing to completion and management transition.
Structured data centre and manufacturing investments in Abu Dhabi of USD 20m and USD 50m respectively, covering joint venture and SPV formation and compliance with government incentive regimes.
Designed a DIFC beneficiary-protection structure for a technology group, combining call options, share pledges, receiver mechanics and corporate agreements engineered to withstand banking compliance review.
Architected a sanctions-compliant cross-border supply chain for a luxury e-commerce platform serving over 500,000 users, delivering the complete contractual, KYC and anti-money-laundering documentation suite.
Structured an AI-native B2B luxury distribution platform across the UAE, the Netherlands and China, closing more than ten SAFE rounds at a valuation exceeding USD 20m.
Advised a leading UAE developer on co-branding arrangements with European fashion houses, and supported the launch of a premium fashion brand across two flagship Dubai retail locations.
Managed the acquisition of a last-mile logistics operator, conducting due diligence and drafting the sale and purchase agreement through regulatory approval and operational integration.
Resolved a corporate deadlock that had blocked execution of critical transactions, and prevented approximately USD 19m in losses through litigation management and commercial negotiation.