Equipment supply from the United States to Dubai for $890k: escrow split into three tranches by deal milestones
«The main task of the deal lawyer is to structure the deal so that the parties have no subject for dispute. Clear acceptance criteria fixed at the start turn confirmation of each stage into a formal procedure»
A manufacturing company in Dubai purchased a line of CNC machines from an American supplier. Deal amount — 890,000 USDT. Logistics, customs clearance, installation and commissioning — four stages, each carrying its own risks.
Leyla Aliyeva acted as the deal lawyer: she split the escrow into three tranches tied to deal milestones, and fixed in advance the criteria for the successful commissioning of the equipment. The deal completed without a single escalation.
Leyla Aliyeva, Aria Legal Group
Six years of practice in international commercial settlements: equipment, raw materials, transactions involving crypto-assets. Has overseen supplies from the United States, Germany and China, including letter-of-credit transactions and their transfer to escrow.
At EscroWallet handles deals where payout is split into stages — shipment, customs clearance, installation, acceptance. Languages: Russian, English, Arabic.
A line of CNC machines from Illinois to the Jebel Ali industrial zone
The buyer — a food-packaging manufacturer in Dubai, expanding its second production line. The seller — an equipment manufacturer from Illinois with 12 years of experience in international supply.
The standard difficulty of international procurement: the seller requires 100% prepayment, while the buyer is only prepared to pay after acceptance and a test run. The alternative — a bank letter of credit, but issuing one takes 4–6 weeks and involves an agent-bank fee of 1.5–2%.
Three escrow tranches: shipment, acceptance, commissioning
The parties registered the deal at EscroWallet and selected Leyla as the deal lawyer. The buyer deposited 890,000 USDT into escrow. Leyla proposed splitting the payout into three tranches: 30% upon shipment and issuance of the bill of lading, 50% upon acceptance of the equipment at the plant in Dubai, 20% upon a successful test run.
The deal terms recorded specific acceptance criteria: serial numbers of the units, datasheet specifications, commissioning parameters — throughput, precision, cycle time. At each stage the documents were attached to the deal chat: bill of lading, packing list, customs declaration, acceptance certificate, commissioning certificate. Once Leyla confirmed the milestone, the corresponding tranche was released from escrow to the seller.
Acceptance without disputes
The shipment from Chicago was made on day 9 after the deal launched — the first tranche of 267,000 USDT went to the seller. After 27 days the equipment arrived in Jebel Ali, cleared customs and was accepted at the plant — the second tranche of 445,000 USDT was released. The test run delivered the planned throughput on the first attempt — the remaining 178,000 USDT was released the next day. Not a single dispute, not a single escalation.
- 890,000 USDT — the deal amount, split into three tranches by milestone
- 9 / 27 / 48 days — timelines for shipment, acceptance, commissioning
- Not a single escalation throughout the deal
- Savings of 1.5–2% versus a bank letter of credit
«We had no experience of direct procurement at this scale from the United States. The escrow plus deal-lawyer arrangement turned out to be the only way to avoid prepayment and not lose time on issuing a letter of credit. The line started up on the first attempt — for our segment, that is an unusual result»
Deal closed within 48 days without a bank letter of credit
The manufacturer received the line and put it into operation on the first start-up. The supplier received all three tranches stage by stage, without funds being held in the agent bank's account and without incurring the letter-of-credit fee.
The case demonstrates that escrow with a deal lawyer covers the same risks as a letter of credit, while delivering results within tight timelines and without a banking intermediary.
Run your deal with this lawyer
Leyla Aliyeva will act as the arbiter: oversee the contractor's performance and rule on any dispute that arises. Funds are protected by escrow.