Igor Tsibelman is a seasoned legal strategist and corporate advisor with over two decades of experience navigating the complexities of international law, mergers and acquisitions, and distressed asset management and over $10 billion in successfully executed private and public acquisitions. Tsibelman has been in private practice since 2017, specializing in investment and risk management advisory and complex conflict resolution providing bespoke solutions to clients facing intricate legal challenges and using his unique legal and business experience as an investor and executive director.
Since 2021, Tsibelman acted as a non-executive director and partner of a private direct investment partnership and co-invested in a highly successful private leveraged buy-out of mature oil assets from an oil major in 2022. Tsibelman is a shareholder and director of a vertically integrated generation and crypto-currency start-up building a 30MWT generation plant operating on associated petroleum gas produced by the acquired oil assets. As part of Tsibelman’s legal practice, he is involved in complex international conflict
resolution and recovery efforts. His experience includes acting as lead counsel in multi-million international arbitrations in all major arbitration venues. Also, in 2017-18, he assisted international investment bank retained by the Government of Ukraine in negotiations with a major Ukrainian oligarch over recovery of billions of dollars.
Prior to entering private practice, Tsibelman served as Managing Director for Distressed Assets at Sberbank CIB from 2015 to 2017. In this capacity, he spearheaded the management of distressed assets and was instrumental in the successful divestiture of Sberbank’s Ukrainian assets. His tenure at Sberbank CIB was marked by strategic leadership in distressed M&A
and asset recovery operations.
Tsibelman’s expertise extends to his role as Chief Legal Officer at RT-Global Resources between 2014 and 2015, where he led legal team in the successful bid for constructing a new refinery in Uganda. His legal acumen was further honed during his time as Special International Counsel at Stroytransgaz and as Advisor to the Deputy CEO for Legal and Corporate Affairs at Gazprom Neft, where he managed international legal affairs and M&A activities. During his tenure at Gazprom Neft, Tsibelman was instrumental in the successful execution of a number of landmark projects, including hostile public acquisition of Sibir Energy plc. Tsibelman served as the CEO and executive director of Sibir Energy in 2009-2011, and as a non-executive director of Salym Petroleum BV, a joint-venture with Shell plc.
Igor Tsibelman is admitted to practice law in New York and Connecticut, and holds a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was a John M. Olin Fellow in Law and Economics and served as Notes Editor for the Georgetown Journal on Law and Policy in International Business. He also earned a BA/MA in International Relations and Oriental Studies from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO).lawyers.justia.com
Tsibelman’s career is characterized by his ability to resolve complex legal and financial issues across borders, his strategic approach to distressed asset management, and his leadership in international arbitration and litigation. His multilingual capabilities and cross-cultural communication skills have been instrumental in his success in global legal arenas.
Character: Igor Tsibelman exemplifies resilience and integrity, consistently navigating high-stakes legal and financial environments with a principled, solution-oriented approach.
Knowledge: With deep expertise in risk management, investments, international arbitration, distressed M&A, and complex restructuring, Igor brings a rare blend of legal acumen and global
market fluency to every engagement.
Strategic: Igor excels in identifying opportunity within complexity, structuring innovative solutions that align cross-border legal challenges with business objectives.
Communication: A persuasive and multilingual communicator, Igor bridges legal and corporate perspectives with clarity, precision, and cross-cultural insight.
