EstoniaViljar Kähari is the founder of KÄHARI Law Firm and has 24 years of experience in the financial and legal services industries. His primary areas of interest are financial services regulatory compliance and risks, as well as financial transactions. In addition, he is focused on private limited partnership funds and blockchain technology. Viljar counsels local and international regulated entities such as banks, credit providers, payment and e-money institutions, fund managers, insurance undertakings, and FinTech/RegTech firms on a wide range of compliance, licensing, and risk issues, including the establishment or restructuring of regulated businesses in Estonia and the provision of cross-border services abroad. He has also given such advice to cryptocurrency companies. Viljar also advises investors, lenders, borrowers, and issuers on complex financing transactions and assists them in establishing tax and collateral schemes as well as cost-effective investment structures. He also has extensive experience and special skills in corporate restructuring, financial litigation, and insolvency practice. Viljar's clients frequently conduct business in multiple jurisdictions throughout the European Economic Area, South Africa, Asia, North America, and South America. His business-minded approach and excellent communication skills are valued by these clients, especially when he is required to liaise with authorities such as the Estonian Financial Supervision and Resolution Authority, the Financial Intelligence Unit, the Ministry of Finance, professional organizations, and so on. Viljar was a co-founder and managing partner of PwC Legal Estonia, which grew to become one of Estonia's largest law firms in 10 years. Viljar previously worked for over ten years in leading Baltic banks such as SEB and Nordea. His team advised the bank on complex loan restructuring, debt collection, and legal matters. He was also in charge of several investment and property management firms for Nordea Bank. Viljar also gained valuable experience while working as a banking and finance lawyer at the regional law firm SORAINEN, where he advised on a number of high-value and complex finance cases involving collateral establishment and the enforcement of rights over a variety of assets.
