Casiana Dușa
President
Cristian Duțescu
Executive Director
Honorary Member
Sohail Zubairi
Honorary Member
Ashley Freeman
Honorary Member
We’ll be unveiling the full catalogue of member partners and honorary members soon. Stay tuned for the announcement!
PRESIDENT
Casiana Dușa
Casiana Dușa is a multi-jurisdictional lawyer, head of UAE Laws Department at Dutescu & Partners, Exclusive Correspondent for Romania of islamicfinancenews.com and the Founder of the Romanian Arab Investments House (RAIH), with over 13 years of international legal and business experience across the Middle East and Romania.
Educated at world-class universities and institutions and certified in Islamic Finance by CIMA, Casiana combines elite academic training with practical expertise in handling complex, cross-border legal and investment matters. Her career has been defined by advising leading international investors, entrepreneurs, and corporations on high-stakes transactions and disputes that demand deep knowledge of both Western and Middle Eastern legal systems.
​Casiana’s expertise spans international and domestic investment, real estate and construction law, corporate and commercial law (both local and international), credit recovery and cross-border transactions, international disputes and arbitration, business expansion across diverse industries, project finance, and Sharia compliance with a strong foundation in Islamic Finance.
She has been at the forefront of major projects in Romania and the United Arab Emirates, earning a reputation for her ability to solve complex challenges at the intersection of law, business, and culture.
​Recognizing the need for a strategic bridge between Romanian and Middle Eastern business ecosystems, Casiana founded the Romanian Arab Investments House (RAIH), the first initiative of its kind in Romania.
Casiana has been instrumental in making the association a pioneering platform in Romania for specialized legal, business and cultural expertise addressing Middle Eastern markets.
​With her unique blend of legal expertise, business acumen, and cultural insight, Casiana is more than a lawyer, she is a strategic partner, dealmaker, and cultural bridge-builder. Her work continues to shape investment landscapes, foster sustainable growth, and unlock new opportunities for businesses in Romania, the Middle East, and beyond.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Cristian Duțescu
Cristian DuÈ›escu, PhD, serves as Executive Director of the Romanian Arab Investments House (RAIH), where he plays a central role in shaping the association’s mission to strengthen business and cultural ties between Romania and the Middle East. As a renowned Romanian lawyer and Chairman of OPPC – Capital Market Professionals Organization, he brings extensive experience and recognition in local and international business law, with an outstanding track record in capital markets and multiple awards confirming his leading position in the Romanian legal field.
Dr. Duțescu guides the strategic direction of RAIH, ensuring the association serves as a trusted hub for entrepreneurs seeking to invest, expand, or collaborate across Romania and the Arab world. Leveraging his expertise in capital markets, corporate law, and cross-border transactions, he helps create high-value investment opportunities and cross-cultural business collaborations.
Together with the President, Casiana Dușa, Dr. Duțescu fosters Muslim-Romanian business partnerships, promoting a shared business and cultural language that simplifies international deal-making and supports sustainable growth. Under their joint leadership, RAIH has evolved into a non-profit platform that combines legal, business, and cultural expertise, providing entrepreneurs with the guidance, networks, and insights necessary to thrive while strengthening ties between Romania and the Middle East.
Dr. Duțescu is also an accomplished academic and arbitrator, having authored over 30 key legal publications on commercial law and capital markets, taught at university and postgraduate levels, and served in several landmark arbitration disputes. His combined practical, academic, and strategic experience underpins his vision for RAIH as both a business accelerator and a cultural bridge between regions.
HONORARY MEMBER
Asad Quayyum
Asad Qayyum is a dual-qualified corporate and commercial lawyer with over 22 years of international experience and particular expertise in Islamic finance, oil and gas, and mining. He advises listed and private companies on project debt and equity financings (both conventional and Islamic), mergers and acquisitions, and the acquisition and disposal of hydrocarbon assets across multiple jurisdictions including the United Kingdom, Oman, Canada, Pakistan, and several African nations.
Asad is a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales, a Barrister of England and Wales, and an Advocate of the High Courts of Pakistan. He combines cross-border legal expertise with an in-depth understanding of Omani law, gained through more than eight years of legal practice in the Sultanate.
He has received multiple accolades for his work in corporate and finance, capital markets, Islamic finance, and mergers and acquisitions, and is recognized for his contributions to legal innovation, corporate governance, and the advancement of Oman’s commercial sector. Clients have described him as one of the best lawyers in the GCC.
His professional memberships include the Bar Council of England and Wales, the Law Society of England and Wales, the Punjab Bar Council, the Lahore High Court Bar Association, and the Association of International Energy Negotiators.
HONORARY MEMBER
Sohail Zubairi
Sohail Zubairi is a highly respected specialist in Islamic finance with extensive experience in consultancy, advisory, and education. He served as the Founding CEO of Dar Al Sharia Islamic Finance Consultancy, established in 2007 in Dubai as a subsidiary of DIB, where he developed and innovated dozens of products across all facets of Islamic finance.
From 2017 to 2023, Zubairi advised the Government of Dubai as Senior Advisor on Islamic Economy matters, supporting the Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre, the Department of Economic Development, and the Department of Economy & Tourism. Over his career, he has received more than two dozen awards for his leadership and innovation, including the Dubai Global Islamic Economy Summit Award, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Award, and twin IFN Awards recognizing Dar Al Sharia as the best consultancy and advisory firm for eight consecutive years from 2009 to 2016.
Zubairi is also a recognized educator and trainer in Islamic finance, having served as a trainer for Bloomberg and AAOIFI, as Head of the Islamic Finance Subgroup at the Dubai Sustainable Finance Working Group, and as a member of the UAE Taxonomy Subgroup on the ADGM Sustainable Finance Working Group. He regularly contributes to the IFN weekly journal and has developed syllabi and teaching materials for introducing Islamic Finance courses at the University of Dubai, British University of Dubai (BUID), and Cass Business School (City University, London).
Combining practical innovation, regulatory expertise, and academic leadership, Sohail Zubairi is one of the most influential figures in the Islamic finance sector, driving growth, education, and cross-border development in the field.
HONORARY MEMBER
Ashley Freeman
Ashley Freeman is an English qualified lawyer with extensive experience of all aspects of financial services gained over 30 years of exclusive specialisation in this area. His work has involved advising banks (retail, wholesale, investment, challenger, digital and new entrants), financing companies, central banks and monetary authorities (particularly in relation to financial regulation, payment systems, financial investigations); stock exchanges and capital markets (including bond and sukuk issues); bank and financial institution rescues and restructurings; investment business (including asset and fund management, collective investments schemes, sovereign funds); payment service providers, insurance and takaful; financial services disputes.
Ashley is particularly noted for his work in the Islamic finance sector having documented his first Shari’a compliant transaction more than 30 years ago. Among his most noteworthy projects in this sector are the drafting of the founding documents and negotiating the establishment of the Islamic Financial Services Board (the global Islamic financial services regulator situated in Malaysia), arranging and advising on numerous sovereign sukuk issues for the Government of Bahrain (including listing on global exchanges) and placing the first ever Islamic bank into Chapter 11 proceedings in the New York bankruptcy court (including serving on the creditors committee of that court).
Ashley came to global prominence during his 13-year tenure as General Counsel of the Central Bank of Bahrain (2001-2014). This position gave him a unique insight into various financial law matters rarely encountered by lawyers including legislative drafting, debt negotiation and the supervision of financial institutions. Prior to 2001, Ashley’s career was in the City of London with Clifford Chance (then the world’s largest most successful law firm). During this time, he worked on hundreds of bank financings, often for large cross-border syndicates, including asset-backed and project finance, corporate acquisitions, capital markets issues and sovereign restructurings.
Since 2014, Ashley has been in private practice acting as a consultant for several law firms around the world. He is also the General Counsel and shareholder of an Islamic financing company regulated in Jersey