Barristers & Arbitrators

Admissions

2024        Barrister, Hong Kong

2022        Registered foreign lawyer, Singapore International Commercial Court

2020        Solicitor, Hong Kong

2009         Advocate, the Russian Federation

Academic 

2006          Master of Laws, Paris-1 Pantheon-Sorbonne

2005          Bachelor and specialist of Public International Law, Moscow State Institute (University) of International Relations

Rankings

A hard-working and dedicated arbitration practitioner.”

A very strong international lawyer”

Sharp, highly accomplished, and absolutely dedicated

– Lexology, 2025

Practice profile

Ms. Boltenko is a barrister, arbitrator, and mediator with over a decade of experience in cross-border dispute resolution and international arbitration. Most recently with Fangda Partners in Hong Kong, Ms. Boltenko has also practised with leading arbitration teams in Paris and Singapore.

With a particular focus on public international law, investor-State dispute resolution, and commercial arbitration, Ms Boltenko has acted as legal counsel in investor-State disputes under the auspices of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the ICSID, the SCC, the ICC, the LCIA, and in various capacities in dozens of commercial disputes in a wide array of industries including oil and gas, mining, infrastructure, construction, telecommunications and pharmaceuticals, across Asia and beyond.

Ms. Boltenko teaches a master of laws degree in arbitration and ADR with a focus on Belt & Road investment law at The University of Hong Kong, where she is a deputy executive director. She is also a professor of law at the Royal University of Law and Economics in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where she teaches a course in investment law at the dual degree program with the Free University of Brussels.

Ms. Boltenko has been consistently recognized in legal rankings, including by Who’s Who Legal, where she has been ranked over the years as a National Leader for Hong Kong and a Thought Leader Global Elite – Under 45. She is described as a “highly motivated and hard-working practitioner who stands out as an excellent choice for investor-state disputes”.

Arbitrator panel Memberships

  • Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC)
 
  • Asia International Arbitration Centre (AIAC)
 
  • China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC)
 
  • Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (AFSA)
 
  • Xi’An Arbitration Commission (XAAC)
 
  • Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP)
 
  • Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration (SCIA)
 
  • Tashkent International Arbitration Center (TIAC)
 
  • Thai Arbitration Institute (TAI)
 
  • Thailand Arbitration Center (THAC)
 
  • British Virgin Islands International Arbitration Centre (BVIIAC)
 
  • Beihai Asia International Arbitration Centre (BAIAC)
 
  • Brunei Darussalam Arbitration Centre (BDAC)
 
  • Korean Commercial Arbitration Board (KCAB)
 
  • South China International Arbitration Center HK (SCIAHK)
 
  • Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC)
 
  • Hong Kong Bar Association Arbitrator List

Arbitration work

  • Presiding arbitrator in a multi-million dollar HKIAC arbitration with a seat in Hong Kong arising out of a set of oil logging agreements
 
  • Co-arbitrator in a multi-million dollar SCC arbitration with a seat in Stockholm arising out of a set of licensing agreements for manufacturing and distribution of beverages, governed by Danish law
 
  • Co-arbitrator in an high-stake ICC dispute arising out of a supply transaction between Eastern European and Germany entities with respect to a sea port
 
  • Presiding arbitrator in a dispute between a Chinese and a Central Asian entity arising out of a freight forwarding contract, with a seat in Tashkent,
 
  •  Uzbekistan, administered by the International Commercial Court at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan
 
  • Re-appointment: sole arbitrator in a construction dispute arising out of a residential premises construction project in Mongolia, conducted under the arbitration rules of the Mongolian International Arbitration Centre
 
  • Sole arbitrator in a construction dispute between a Russian sub-contractor and an Italian contractor, seated in Moscow and conducted under the Arbitration Rules of the Russian Arbitration Centre at the Russian Institute of Modern Arbitration 
 
  • Sole arbitrator in an ICC dispute arising out of a set of supply arrangements between a South Korean manufacturer and a Brazilian supplier, under Hong Kong law with a legal seat in Hong Kong
 
  • Sole arbitrator in a construction dispute under the Mongolian Arbitration Centre Rules arising out of a construction project in Ulaan Batar, under Mongolian law with a legal seat in Ulaan Batar
 
  • Sole arbitrator in an ad hoc arbitration arising out of a set of supply arrangements between a French party and a Malaysian party, with a seat in Kuala Lumpur
 
  • Co-arbitrator in a CIETAC dispute arising out of a set of manufacturing-related arrangements between a Russian party and a Belorussian party, under PRC law with a legal seat in Beijing
 
  • Sole arbitrator in a Russian Arbitration Centre dispute arising under a set of supply arrangements between two Russian parties, under Russian law with a legal seat in Moscow

Counsel and registrar work

  • Advising a group of companies (Singapore, Hong Kong, and PRC) on Singapore-seated complex multi-party arbitration under the SIAC rules with respect to manufacturing and distribution of certain retail goods in the PRC

  • Advising a Chinese manufacturer on a multi-million USD distribution dispute under SIAC Rules with a seat in Singapore

  • Advising an Eastern European shipbuilder on a contentious situation arising out of a blocked vessel in the PRC

  • Advising an Italian contractor in a large-scale infrastructure dispute in South Asia

  • Representing a major international agricultural business in a large-scale funds recovery effort in Hong Kong

  • Advising an Eastern European client on regulatory matters relating to trading gold in Hong Kong

  • Representing a party in a contentious situation involving blocked credit limits with respect to an agricultural trade transaction

  • Acting for a buyer in a potentially contentious acquisition of a substantial stock in a Hong Kong listed company

  • Advising an Eastern European bank on acquisition of a stake in a Hong Kong listed company

  • Advising Russian shareholders of a Hong Kong incorporated holding company on a shareholders dispute in Hong Kong with accompanying winding-up proceedings

  • Advising a Paraguayan entity in recovering amounts defrauded from the company in a large scale email scam

  • Advising a Chinese shareholder in a shareholders dispute relating to a JV in Hong Kong with main assets in the mainland China

  • Advising a Chinese shareholder in a shareholders dispute relating to an acquisition of a technology business in Europe

  • Representing a Chinese State-owned enterprise in investor-State negotiations of a dispute arising out of a large-scale nationalisation of an infrastructure investment project in Africa

  • Representing a European investor against a sovereign State in set aside proceedings before Hong Kong courts with respect to a Hong Kong-seated treaty arbitration

  • Representing a Russian individual in a dispute over bitminers and other cryptocurrency equipment in Hong Kong

  • Representing Armenia against a US national in an ICSID dispute under the US-Armenia BIT arising out of Armenia’s alleged breach of the BIT’s full protection and security standard

  • Representing AFK Sistema an ICSID arbitration against Turkmenistan arising out of Turkmenistan cancellation of mobile telecommunication licences

  • Representing Ukraine in ICSID Case ARB/06/18 Joseph Charles Lemire v Ukraine

  • Representing Ukraine in ICSID Case ARB/09/11 Global Trading Resources Corp. and Globex International, Inc. v Ukraine

  • Representing a Ukrainian state agency in a dispute under the PCA Environmental Rules over the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol in Ukraine

  • Acting as a PCA legal counsel in a set of ECT arbitrations against the Russian Federation over the expropriation of the Yukos Oil Company

  • Advising a major Russian bank on strategic issues of a large-scale transnational debt recovery effort

  • Representing a Japanese vehicle manufacturing company in a Brussels based ICC arbitration in a dispute arising out of a FIDIC construction contract

  • Representing a French construction company in a Stockholm based ICC arbitration in a dispute over a FIDIC construction contract

  • Representing a French Michelin star restaurant group in an IP dispute against a Hong Kong entity over multiple breaches of a licensing agreement

Expert witness work

  • Issued a legal opinion with respect to compliance of a complex supply contract with laws and regulations of Hong Kong SAR

  • Issued a legal opinion under Hong Kong law on the impact of sanctions imposed by various jurisdictions on contract performance

  • Appeared as a Russian law expert witness in set aside proceedings in the Federal Courts of Australia

Publications

 

 
 
  • “Balancing the Protection of Foreign Investors and States’ Responses in the (Post) Pandemic World: An Introduction”, Balancing the Protection of Foreign Investors and States Responses in the Post-Pandemic World, edt. by Y. Levashova, P. Accaoui Lorfing, 2022, Olga Boltenko
 
 
 
 
 
  • “Arbitration in Russia: Investment Law – Inception and Evolution”, International Arbitration: Issues, Perspectives and Practice, Liber Amicorum Neil Kaplan, January 2019; Olga Boltenko
 
 
 
  • “Investment Protection in China’s SEZs: Lee Jong Baek Case Study”, International Economic Law and the Challenges of the Free Zones, edt. by J. Chaisse and Jiaxiang Hu, 2019; Olga Boltenko
 
  • “Investment Protection in China’s Special Economic Zones: Lee Jong Baek Case Study”, Hong Kong Lawyer, January 2019; Olga Boltenko
 
  • “The Protection of Foreign Investment in Mongolia: A Bumpy Ride for Overseas Mining Investors?”, Asian Dispute Review, 2019; Olga Boltenko
 
 
 
 
 
  • “Political Risk Insurance along Belt & Road”, Asian Dispute Review, December 2017; Olga Boltenko
 
  • “A Russian roulette: the future of Russian investment law”, Offshore Investment, October 2017; Olga Boltenko
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  • “Arbitrating with Russia – ways to minimize sanctions-related risks”, Corporate Disputes, April 2015; Olga Boltenko, Karen Tan
 
 
  • “Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards in Russia and China”, Asian Dispute Review, January 2015; Olga Boltenko
 
  • “Hong Kong: Lord Hoffmann’s rule of law musings”, Global Arbitration Review, December 2014; Olga Boltenko
 
  • “Hong Kong emerges as Russia’s Refuge while the EU Sanction Cripple Major Russian Businesses”, Kluwer Arbitration Blog, November 2014; Olga Boltenko