Datuk Tania Scivetti

Datuk Tania Scivetti is an international lawyer based in Kuala Lumpur with more than 25 years’ experience advising and representing clients in complex criminal defence, cross-border investigations, and enforcement matters involving multiple jurisdictions.

She is the Founder and Managing Partner of Scivetti & Associates, a boutique law firm recognised for handling legally and politically sensitive cases involving parallel proceedings, foreign authorities, and multi-jurisdictional strategy.

Born in Sydney and of Italian descent, she relocated to Malaysia in 1999 and has since developed a practice bridging Southeast Asia, Europe, Australia, and the United States. She is admitted to
practise in Malaysia, New York, and New South Wales and regularly works with overseas defence counsel and international advisers in matters requiring coordinated cross-border defence and enforcement strategy.

Her practice focuses on the defence of corruption and anti-money laundering cases, civil and non-conviction-based forfeiture, extradition and habeas corpus proceedings, organised crime, and capital and non-capital drug offences. She has acted in numerous cases carrying the most serious penalties under Malaysian law, as well as in high-value forfeiture proceedings involving assets valued in the billions across multiple matters.

Her experience on both sides of the enforcement landscape provides a forensic understanding of how funds are moved, concealed, and ultimately recovered.

In addition to her defence practice, she advises governments, corporations, financial institutions and high-net-worth individuals on financial investigations, asset tracing, and the recovery or protection of assets across multiple jurisdictions.

She also advises corporations and technology companies on regulatory and enforcement risks arising from international trade and national security frameworks, including compliance with Malaysia’s Strategic Trade Act, export control regimes governing dual-use technologies, and trade remedies investigations such as anti-dumping proceedings.

Her practice further extends to matters involving international sanctions regimes, including Magnitsky-style sanctions frameworks, where issues of asset freezing, financial restrictions, and cross-border enforcement intersect with criminal investigations and international cooperation.

She has been involved in several of Malaysia’s most closely followed criminal and enforcement matters, including proceedings arising from the 1MDB investigations, major asset forfeiture actions, and extradition requests initiated by foreign governments, particularly the United States.

She has also acted for foreign embassies and diplomatic missions, representing foreign nationals in Malaysia across criminal, civil and immigration matters, and advising on issues involving consular protection, due process and international cooperation.

Tania began her career with leading firms in Australia and Malaysia, including Corrs Chambers Westgarth and Zaid Ibrahim & Co., before founding Scivetti & Associates in 2010. In recognition of her professional contributions, she was conferred the Darjah Mulia Seri Melaka (DMSM) in 2025, carrying the title Datuk.

Her work is characterised by careful judgment, long-term perspective, and an acute awareness of what is ultimately at stake for those she represents.

The most difficult cases do not benefit from scale. They benefit from judgment.

- Tania Scivetti