ALCIDES I. AVILA

Founding Partner, Corporate & Financial Services

Avila, Rodriguez, Hernandez, Mena & Ferri (ARHMF)

Alcides I. Avila is a founding partner of Avila Rodriguez Hernandez Mena Ferri LLP and an attorney in its Corporate and Financial Services practice

Mr. Avila represents domestic and foreign clients in all aspects of bank regulatory, lending, mergers and acquisitions and other transactional matters. With over 35 years of experience, he regularly represents clients before the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Florida Office of Financial Regulation and other regulatory agencies.

Mr. Avila has represented numerous foreign financial institutions and investors in establishing and expanding banking operations in the United States. In addition to his banking practice, he has extensive experience in domestic and international business transactions, including cross-border mergers and acquisitions and financing. Mr. Avila has also served as independent counsel to the Board of Directors of various banks in connection with compliance and enforcement actions.

ANDRES FERNANDEZ

Partner

Holland & Knight LLP

Andres “Andy” Fernandez is a partner in Holland & Knight’s Miami office, co-leader of the firm’s Financial Services Regulatory Team, and leader of the firm’s Cuba Action Team. He practices in the area of banking law and financial services, with a focus on licensing, regulatory and compliance matters. With an emphasis on issues pertaining to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), anti-money laundering (AML) and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), including recent sanctions issued under the Magnitsky Act, Mr. Fernandez counsels a broad range of clients such as domestic community banks, foreign banks, broker dealers and money service businesses (including virtual/digital currency). His fluency in Spanish helps clients in the United States as well as Central and South America.

Mr. Fernandez has represented financial institutions in such diverse matters as the establishment of U.S. offices and branches of foreign banks, the de novo formation of financial institutions, the resolution of regulatory enforcement actions against financial institutions, the representation of financial institutions before various regulatory or enforcement agencies as well as the resolution of potential civil and criminal monetary penalties, fines and forfeitures before U.S. regulators (Federal Reserve, OCC, FDIC, FINRA and the SEC), FinCEN, OFAC and the U.S. Department of Justice.

He began his legal career as a public defender in Miami-Dade County, Florida, where he tried numerous jury trials to verdict. With this background, he was able to expand his practice into areas of commercial litigation at a boutique law firm, and then rise as the co-chair of the banking and financial services practice at another Florida-based law firm. Beyond his active legal practice, Mr. Fernandez is an avid public speaker at regional and international banking conferences and training seminars. He also serves as an adjunct professor at the Florida International University College of Law teaching a course on BSA, AML and OFAC.

CARLOS TROETSCH

President

FELABAN

CHRISTOPHER A SNYDER

Head of Financial Crime Threat Mitigation LAM, Financial Crime Threat Mitigation Compliance

HSBC Mexico

Chris Snyder is the Head of Financial Crime Threat Mitigation (FCTM) for the Latin America region of HSBC Holdings, Inc. As a managing director, he and his team provide an industry-leading and data-driven capability to proactively identify, analyze, and investigate financial crime and fraud risks and to ensure proper mitigation of those risks in the region. His expertise lies at the intersection of compliance, technology, and law in the financial services industry.

His previous positions at HSBC include acting Global Head of Complex Investigations, which handles FCTM’s most difficult cases involving multiple affiliates and regions or involving complicated financial crime investigations, and the Global Head of FCC Critical Risk Controls. Chris joined HSBC originally as the Head of the Americas for the Monitor Liaison Office.

Prior to joining HSBC, Chris spent 10 years as an attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), including as DOJ’s Attaché to the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City. During his service with DOJ, he won the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award and the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association’s National Prosecutor of the Year Award. Chris began his legal career as a federal judicial clerk to U.S. District Judge José Gonzalez in the Southern District of Florida. Chris received his J.D. from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, and he received bachelor’s degrees in Spanish and in Business Administration from Ohio University.

DANIEL GUTIERREZ

Vice President & BSA Manager

Ocean Bank

Daniel Gutierrez is a Vice President, Regulatory Risk Manager with Ocean Bank since August, 2008. 

  Mr. Gutierrez has been a key part of Ocean Bank’s BSA Management team which enabled the Bank to get off the deferred prosecution agreement and Consent Order, as well as enhancing and strengthening its BSA Program. 

   Prior to his employment at Ocean Bank (and since 2001), Mr. Gutierrez has worked in other large Financial Institutions in Miami (including: Standard Chartered Bank, American Express Bank International, Banco de Credito de Inversiones and The International Bank of Miami, N.A.) in various BSA/AML/OFAC capacities including Managerial and supervisory positions.   His background and experience in BSA is focused on leading BSA teams to complete: Bank-wide risk assessments, Foreign Correspondent Banking reviews, PEP, PIC/IBC, 314(a), 314 (b) and subpoena and High Risk reviews, OFAC/AML investigations, and other anti-money laundering and regulatory compliance matters including providing training courses.  

In his capacity as BSA Manager, Mr. Gutierrez has managed complex cases involving a wide range of clients from local to wealth management international portfolios including small privately owned companies to large multinational entities located in the United States, Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. 

Mr. Gutierrez has extensive experience in anti-money laundering, USA PATRIOT Act, Bank Secrecy Act, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and compliance matters. He currently speaks and provides frequent trainings on these before Government Officials, Local and International professionals as well as academic audiences. 

Mr. Gutierrez is currently the Chair for the BSA/AML Committee for FIBA, he is a Certified Professional in AML (FIBA/ Florida International University Certification); and a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS).  

DAVID HERNANDEZ

FIBA Chair & Chief Risk Officer

BAC Florida Bank

Mr. David Edward Hernandez served as Chief Risk & Corporate Governance Officer of Great Florida Bank, heading internal audit, risk management, BSA and compliance. Mr. Hernandez has over 27 years in the financial services industry. Prior to joining the Bank, he served as Vice President of risk management, internal audit, legal, insurance, and compliance for VisionCare Holding LLC. Mr. Hernandez held senior management position with Protiviti Risk Consulting heading their Financial Services Division for Florida and previously held senior positions in operations and risk management for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. in New York. Mr. David Hernandez serves as Chief Risk Officer at BAC Florida Bank. He served as Vice President for the institute of Internal auditors for the Miami chapter. He served as an Executive Operations Officer of Great Florida Bank since April 2007 and served as its Head of Risk Management. Mr. Hernandez formerly served on the Board of Directors of the Florida International Bankers Association. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Pace University. 

DAVID SCHWARTZ

President & CEO

FIBA

David Schwartz is President and CEO of the Florida International Bankers Association (FIBA), a nonprofit trade association dedicated to fostering the growth of international banking through education, advocacy and networking. Its membership includes some 70 financial institutions from 18 countries spanning 4 continents, including the largest banks in Europe, the U.S., and Latin America that are active in international trade and finance. Prior to joining FIBA, David was Senior Vice President and Manager of International Compliance Risk Management at Regions Financial Corporation in Miami, a $140 Billion dollar institution. He was responsible for providing effective oversight, communication and direction to all lines of business for issues involving foreign customers and related products, services and transactions, including the development and implementation of all BSA/AML policies and procedures. David joined Regions’ predecessor bank Union Planters in 2004 as Manager of the International Wealth Management Group. David worked for Banque Sudameris for over 20 years, holding numerous International Banking positions including Head of the International Department in Argentina, Deputy Manager of Banque Sudameris in Monte Carlo, Head of Correspondent Banking, Credit and Treasury in Miami, and Deputy Manager and Director of Wealth Management in Miami. David received his Juris Doctorate from New York Law School and also has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. He has completed foreign studies and training in Hong Kong and Paris, France and is fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, French and Italian. He is a past President of FIBA (2007-2008), past Chair of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools Health Medical Advisory Committee and is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Lung Association of South Florida. He is also the past President of the Coral Reef High School PTSA and is currently a member of the board of the Miami-Dade County Council PTA/PTSA. He holds a black belt in Shuri-Ryu Karate and is an avid golfer.

DEBRA L. NOVAK

Chief , Anti-Money Laundering Section, Division of Risk Management Supervision

FDIC

Ms. Novak began her career with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as a safety and soundness examiner and is currently the Chief of the FDIC’s Anti-Money Laundering Section, Washington, D.C. In this capacity, she assists in developing policy in the area of the Bank Secrecy Act, oversees the review of institutions with considerable BSA concerns as well as the review of banks to ensure compliance with the Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions.

Ms. Novak is a certified anti-money laundering specialist as well as a certified fraud specialist. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from Nebraska Wesleyan University, Lincoln, Nebraska, with an emphasis in accounting.

EUGENIO HERNÁNDEZ-BRETÓN

Partner

Baker McKenzie

Dr. Eugenio Hernández-Bretón has been an attorney in the firm since 1981 and became partner in 1993. Eugenio is an elected member of the Venezuelan Academy of Political and Social Sciences, the Instituto Hispano Luso Americano de Derecho Internacional and the International Academy of Comparative Law. He has been recognized as a leading lawyer in energy and natural resources, international and domestic arbitration, and litigation by top legal directories including Chambers & Partners and Legal 500. He is a tenured law professor at the Universidad Central de Venezuela, Universidad Monteávila and Universidad Católica Andrés Bello. He holds a PhD from the University of Heidelberg and has authored three books and more than two hundred law articles.

Practice Focus

Eugenio Hernández-Bretón is the head of the Energy, Mining and Infrastructure practice group in Venezuela and the Dispute Resolution practice group as well. Eugenio has extensive experience advising companies from the energy sector in arbitration procedures, contracts with the State and regulatory matters for oil, gas and mining international companies doing business in Venezuela.

Representative cases or matters

• Advised several mining, oil and gas foreign companies in their Venezuelan projects, including project financing.
• Assisted in the negotiation of complex EPC contracts.
• Appeared before arbitration panels and foreign courts as counsel, and as expert witness on issues of international law, private international law and Venezuelan law.
• Advised foreign and domestic entities and individuals in respect of the application of sanctions imposed by foreign governments on Venezuelan individuals and entities, and on countersanctions imposed by Venezuelan authorities.

Publications, presentations and articles

Over 200 publications in constitutional, administrative, family, contract, commercial, arbitration, private international and international civil procedure law.

Professional affiliations

• Caracas Bar Association (1981)
• Former President of the Venezuelan Academy of Political and Social Sciences
• President of the Advisory Council of the Asociación Americana de Derecho Internacional Privado
• Instituto Hispano Luso Americano de Derecho Internacional
• International Academy of Comparative Law.

Education and admission

• University of Heidelberg (Dr. iur. utr. summa cum laude) (1991)
• Faculté Int’l de Droit Comparé (Diploma) (1990)
• University of Tübingen (LL.M. magna cum laude) (1988)
• Columbia University (LL.M.) (1983)
• Andrés Bello Catholic University (J.D. summa cum laude) (1981)

GIORGIO TRETTENERO

Secretary General

FELABAN

GUILLERMO HORTA MONTES

Global AML/ATF Head - International Banking SVP

Scotia Bank

Before joining Scotia Bank, Guillermo acted as a Chief AML Officer for UBS, as Managing Director for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and as Citigroup’s anti-money laundering managing director for Mexico and Latin America. Mr. Horta is also the vice president of the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Committee of the Latin-American Banks Federation (FELABAN) and head of the AML Committee of the Mexican Banks Association (ABM).

Previously, he held several positions in Citigroup at the Corporate Legal and Compliance Departments of Grupo Financiero Banamex. Before his career in the financial system, Mr. Horta worked in different governmental entities involved in topics related to law enforcement and also as an associate in a prestigious international law firm in Mexico.

HOLLY SAIS PHILLIPPI

Market Development Director

Refinitiv

Holly has over 19 plus years’ experience in data/regulatory compliance and risk management. Holly is focused on building strong Customer and Third Party Risk communities within the corporate environment, regulatory and financial communities to ensure Refinitiv is putting the clients’ focuses first in product build and design. She is also responsible for strategic project planning, building an education strategy around Customer and Third Party risk and assisting clients with large-scale Rollout & Adoption projects around Customer and Third Party Risk solutions. She has personally managed several top banks around the globe and engaged directly with their Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance teams and the heads of AML compliance. Holly’s focus has always been to ensure clients have the data and systems necessary to meet their regulatory guidelines as well as corporate responsibility expectations.

IVAN GARCES

Chair, Risk Advisory Services Practice

Kaufman Rossin

Ivan Garces is a senior advisory principal, Chair of Kaufman Rossin’s risk advisory services practice, co-leads the firm’s banking practice and serves as a member of the Firm’s Management Committee. He brings clients more than 24 years of public accounting experience, and provides risk management, governance, forensic accounting and regulatory compliance consulting services to private and publicly traded companies and financial institutions throughout the U.S., Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean.

He has extensive experience evaluating risk management programs, internal controls, anti-fraud and anti-money laundering programs, USA PATRIOT Act, Bank Secrecy Act, Office of Foreign Assets Control and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act compliance programs. Ivan has assisted numerous companies and financial institutions respond to regulatory enforcement actions related to such matters. Ivan has conducted internal investigations into alleged asset misappropriation, financial reporting, money laundering and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations. He has also provided expert testimony for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Ivan is a frequent speaker at industry events and panels and has been quoted in financial news and trade publications including the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, South Florida Business Journal, American Banker and Compliance Week.

EDUCATION

• B.ACC. Accounting, M.S. Taxation, Florida International University

INDUSTRIES

• Financial Institutions
• Investment Companies
• Professional Services
• Technology
• FinTECH
• Digital Currency

JAIRO NAMUR

Founder / Chief Commercial Officer

Intelligence For Action LLC

Jairo Namur is the founder of Intelligence for Action LLC, a Florida based consulting firm focused on helping financial institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean to introduce and apply innovative technology to support payments and regulatory compliance initiatives. Mr. Namur is a senior business executive with over 30 years of banking experience. His industry expertise includes domestic and international cash management, correspondent banking, Regulatory Compliance, Global Custody, and Payment/Securities systems development. As a specialist in payment and securities market infrastructures Mr. Namur has worked with many private and government run entities throughout Latam and the Caribbean in establishing or modernizing payment and securities settlement systems.

Prior to founding Intelligence for Action LLC, Mr. Namur spent 9 years at SWIFT in various Senior roles including Regional Head of Sales and Business Development for Latam and the Caribbean and Head of Market Infrastructures Latam and the Caribbean. In these roles Mr. Namur was responsible for leading the company’s strategy and sales efforts across all markets, products, and services.

Mr. Namur has held a variety of senior level positions at some of the world’s largest global transaction banks including 5 years as VP Global Transaction Banking for HSBC Bank USA based in NY and Mexico City and 8 years at The Bank of New York. During His time at BNY he held various positions including Regional Head for the Andean and Central American regions, VP and Head of Cash Management for Latin America and the Caribbean, and General Manager of the Venezuelan Regional Rep office. Prior experience also includes Regional Head of Central America, and Head of Cash Management Latam, at the Philadelphia Intl Bank and other key roles in the operations areas at Bankers Trust Co NY and Bank of America Intl NY.

Mr. Namur attended Pace University in NY, and Universidad de los Andes, in Bogotá, Colombia. He also holds various industry certifications such as the Association for Financial Professionals, Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) as well as the prestigious FIBA/FIU’s Anti Money-Laundering Certified Analyst (AMLCA) designation.

JAMES SAYKO

Head of Financial Crimes Controls

Wells Fargo & Company

James Sayko is the Head of Financial Crimes Controls for the Financial Institutions Group at Wells Fargo, where he oversees the execution of the financial crimes program for FIG, a line of business that offers global relationship coverage to banks and non-bank financial institutions. James previously served as the Asia Pacific Head of Financial Crimes Risk Management for Wells Fargo, where he oversaw Anti-Money Laundering, AntiBribery and Corruption, Economic Sanctions, and Fraud for 15 jurisdictions across the region. Before joining Wells Fargo, James worked at JPMorgan in Legal & Compliance, where he covered a variety of topics including financial crimes, securities regulation, conflicts, and lobbying/pay-to-play, and in FIG, where he served as a relationship executive.

JAY WEAVER

Federal Courts Reporter

Miami Herald

Jay Weaver writes about bad guys who specialize in con jobs, rip-offs and squirreling away millions. Since joining the Miami Herald in 1999, he’s covered the federal courts nonstop, from Elian’s custody battle to A-Rod’s steroid abuse. He was part of the Herald team that won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news in 2001. He and three Herald colleagues were Pulitzer Prize finalists for explanatory reporting in 2019 for a series on gold smuggled from South America to Miami.

JEFF HOROWITZ

Chief Compliance Officerr

Coinbase

Jeff Horowitz joined Coinbase on July of 2018 to become their Chief Compliance Officer. Previously, Jeff was a Managing Director and Global Head of Compliance for Pershing LLC, a BNY Mellon company. Mr. Horowitz previously served as the Chief Compliance Officer for Pershing as well as the Firm’s Chief Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and OFAC Officer, where he was responsible for the development and implementation of the firm’s Global AML Program across the Pershing enterprise. Mr. Horowitz represents Pershing on SIFMA’s Compliance and Regulatory Policy Committee.

Mr. Horowitz has represented Pershing as a securities industry representative to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group (BSAAG) and was also a past co-chair of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) Anti-Money Laundering Committee. He has also served as the BSAAG co-chair of the Securities and Futures Subcommittee. Mr. Horowitz is an active member of the International Council of Securities Association group on AML and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and serves on the Florida International Bankers Association AML Compliance Conference Advisory Committee as well the Association of Certified Anti- Money Laundering Specialists Annual AML & Financial Crime Conference Task Force.

Prior to joining Pershing, Mr. Horowitz was a Director and Head of AML Compliance for Citigroup’s Corporate and Investment Banking Division in North America. His responsibilities included the Institutional Sales and Trading Departments of Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Investment Banking, Global Relationship Banking and Global Transaction Services. Prior to joining Citigroup, Mr. Horowitz held several senior compliance roles at Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs and Salomon Brothers Inc. He began his career at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in the Division of Resolutions.

Mr. Horowitz earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Trenton State College. He has also completed the Securities Industry Institute® program, sponsored by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

JOHN F. TOBON

Deputy Special Agent in Charge

Homeland Security Investigations - Miami

John Tobon oversees financial crime and money laundering investigations for HSI in the South Florida area. He leads a team of almost 100 multi-agency investigators and analysts focused on proactive and reactive investigations targeting the financial structure of transnational criminal organizations.

  Prior to this assignment, John was assigned to the Illicit Finance & Proceeds of Crime Unit (IFPCU) at ICE-HSI Headquarters in Washington, DC, where he had programmatic oversight of HSI financial investigations and financial crime capacity building efforts around the world. John has also served as the Assistant HSI Attaché in Bogota, Colombia and as a Special Agent within the HSI led El Dorado Task Force in New York, NY and the office of the Special Agent in Charge, Seattle, WA. He started his career in the U.S. Customs Service in 1994. 

John is recognized as a subject matter expert in his field and his analyses of money laundering risks are often featured in national and international television and print media. 

John holds a combined Bachelor of Arts/Master of Arts degree in Criminal Justice from the City University of New York (CUNY), John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

JOHN SIDDONS

Supervisory Special Agent

IRS-CI

JORGE CASTAÑO GUTIERREZ

Superintendente Financiero

Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia

El Superintendente Financiero, Jorge Castaño Gutiérrez, ha dedicado gran parte de su vida a la formación académica y a la investigación en temas relacionados con el sistema financiero colombiano. Su carrera profesional la ha desarrollado fundamentalmente en la Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia – SFC por cerca de 15 años, lo que le ha permitido consolidar una amplia experiencia en la regulación y supervisión del sistema financiero.

Su carácter técnico, así como sus cualidades y calidades profesionales lo llevaron a convertirse desde mayo de 2017 en el primer Superintendente elegido luego del proceso de meritocracia adelantado por el Gobierno colombiano siguiendo los mejores estándares de la OECD. Fue ratificado en el cargo para el período 2018 – 2022.

Su liderazgo le ha permitido a la SFC posicionarse como una de las Superintendencias con mejores estándares internacionales de regulación y supervisión en materia bancaria, aseguradora y del mercado de valores. El Superintendente es el actual vicepresidente de la Junta Directiva de la Asociación de Supervisores Bancarios de las Américas – ASBA para el período 2018 – 2020.

Se ha desempeñado como Director del Fondo de Garantías de Instituciones Financieras – FOGAFIN y cuenta con una importante trayectoria como docente en pregrado y posgrado de las facultades de Derecho y Finanzas de la Universidad Externado de Colombia y Pontificia Universidad Javeriana.

El Superintendente Castaño es abogado de la Universidad Externado de Colombia con especialización en Derecho Financiero y Bursátil de la misma universidad y Master en Desarrollo Económico de la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.

KRISTIN RICE-GONZALEZ

Partner

Baker McKenzie

Kristin Rice-Gonzalez is a partner in the Chicago office and is experienced in fund review and formation, mergers and acquisitions, investment adviser compliance and general corporate law, with an emphasis on real estate, secondary transactions and fund-of-funds.

Ms. Gonzalez provides comprehensive representation of investment advisers, private equity securities broker and private funds regarding complex regulatory, compliance and enforcement matters. She has significant experience with management and operational issues associated with securities brokerage and investment management businesses, as well as with securities transactions, investment product design, general corporate and transactional matters. Her practice includes assisting cross -border financial institutions and investors in their effort to comply with FINRA and SEC regulations.

She also advises clients on alternative investment fund matters, advising clients on the structuring and formation of, and investment in, international and domestic private investment funds, including private equity funds, and fund-of-funds. Ms. Rice-Gonzalez has represented well-known investors in international and domestic private funds and fund-of-funds. She has also represented domestic and foreign broker dealers and investment advisers in filings before the SEC and FINRA.

LES JOSEPH

Manager, Global Financial Crimes Intelligence Group

Wells Fargo

Lester Joseph is the Manager of the Global Financial Crimes Intelligence Group at Wells Fargo & Company. The primary mission of this Group is to provide intelligence on money laundering activity and financial crime trends to all parts of the company. Les joined Wells Fargo as the International Investigations Manager in the Financial Intelligence Unit in March 2010.

Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Les worked for the U.S. Department of Justice from 1984 to February 2010. From 2002-2010, he was the Principal Deputy Chief of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section (AFMLS). He was a Deputy Chief in the Section since October 1991. During his tenure in AFMLS, the Section played a major role in several noteworthy money laundering investigations and prosecutions involving major financial institutions.

Les began his career with the Department of Justice in 1984 as a Trial Attorney in the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section. From 1981-1984, Les served as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Cook County (Chicago), Illinois. He received his J.D. from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago and his B.A. from the University of Michigan.

MARIANO FEDERICI

Ex -Presidente de la Unidad de Información Financiera (UIF), Argentina

Mr. Federici is a senior international expert in the field of financial integrity. He has a vast experience in advising governments and financial systems, and has held various senior responsibilities at the national and international levels, in the area of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF). Mr. Federici has successfully managed public sector institutions, large teams and projects and has exercised leadership in his home country, at the regional and global levels, making important contributions to promoting financial integrity in the international financial system. He has approached the subject of financial integrity from different angles, such as the policy development, technical assistance / capacity building, and operational ones, from the country specific as well as the regional and global views, giving him a broad perspective of the topic, its challenges and opportunities. Mr. Federici was President of Argentina’s Financial Intelligence Unit (Argentina’s FIU) from January 2016 to January 2020, exercising regulatory, financial intelligence and criminal justice responsibilities. During his term in office, Mr. Federici held numerous international positions at global AML/CFT organizations, such as:

• CHAIR of the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units.
• Vice Chair of the Egmont Group’s Committee.
• Regional Representative for the Americas at the Egmont Group.
• Chair of the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) Heads of FIU Forum.
• Co-chair of the FATF’s Risk, Trends and Methods Working Group (RTMG).
• Co-Chair of the Grupo de Acción Financiera de Latinoamerica (GAFILAT)’s Mutual Evaluations Working Group.

In the past, Mr. Federici worked as Senior Counsel for the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Legal Department and Regional Advisor for the IMF’s Legal Department in Latin America and The Caribbean, providing in both cases high level policy, legal and technical advice on financial integrity issues to IMF member countries as well as to the organs and staff of the Fund. He also worked as a Foreign Associate for Sullivan & Cromwell’s New York Office and as partner and associate for leading argentine law firms. Among his most recent achievements, it is worth highlighting Mr. Federici’s leadership in advancing the following priority objectives for his country and the global community:

• Developing the Argentina-US Dialogue on Illicit Finances, which served as a key instrument for the bilateral strategic partnership among the two nations;
• Promoting the establishment of sanctions regimes across the Americas and the designation of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization by Latin American countries;
• Promoting the imposition of countermeasures to Iran at the FATF, given Iran’s failure to cooperate in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing;
• Investigating and dismantling major corruption and money laundering networks related with Venezuela’s governmental regime;
• Investigating and dismantling major drug trafficking and money laundering networks related with Colombian and Mexican drug cartels operating in the region;
• Contributing to the development and enhancement of international norms, standards and principles in the area of financial integrity;
• Contributing to the development of national ML/TF risk assessments and national AML/CFT strategies as key public policy instruments for financial integrity;
• Raising awareness on the relevance of FIU autonomy and operational independence as a key pillar for the sound exchange of financial intelligence among countries;
• Reforming the argentine AML/CFT regulatory framework for financial institutions incorporating the risk-based approach to it in accordance with international standards;
• Promoting the development of public-private partnerships for information exchange between governments and financial institutions;
• Fostering the global dialogue between FIUs, the FINTECH industry and virtual asset service providers to enhance their cooperation against financial crimes;
• Promoting the importance of financial inclusion (and the threats posed by financial exclusion) to financial integrity and national security goals;

Mr. Federici has directed post graduate degree programs in the area of financial integrity at the School of Business of the Catholic University of Argentina and the Law School of the Catholic University of Salta. He has also lectured as regular and visiting professor at various universities across the world. Mr. Federici is an active promoter of financial integrity within civil society and has exercised several key roles in this area in civil society organizations. Mr. Federici was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and is a citizen of Argentina and Italy. He holds a law degree (Juris Doctor) from the Catholic University of Argentina and an LL.M. (Master in Laws) from the University of Virginia’s School of Law, in the United States.

NIKHIL AGGARWAL

Director

Promontory Financial Group, an IBM Company

Nikhil advises clients on anti-money laundering, financial crimes compliance and regulatory matters. He has extensive experience in program design and review with a focus on applying machine learning and analytics to risk assessments, client risk rating models, transaction monitoring systems optimization, suspicious activity reporting, metrics and reporting, and model validation. His client engagements primarily focus on improving the effectiveness and efficiency of transaction monitoring systems by deploying machine learning models, undertaking rule design and threshold tuning/calibration, and deploying case/alert risk scoring models.

Prior to joining Promontory, he was with Standard Chartered Bank with responsibility for the Financial Crime Compliance Analytics function. Earlier in his career, he worked with Citibank and Bank of America in marketing and risk analytics. Nikhil earned an MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles, and holds a Masters in Economics from the University of Southern California.

PETER D. FORD

Director, Northeast Region

G4S Corporate Risk Services

Mr. Ford, a 32-year veteran of the U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service, has served as the Regional Security Officer (RSO) at U.S. embassies in Armenia, Switzerland and Mauritania. His other overseas assignments have been Deputy RSO at the U.S. Embassy in Honduras and Lebanon. In Iraq, Mr. Ford was the Director of the Office of Hostage Affairs, U.S. Embassy Baghdad. Mr. Ford served as the U.S. Olympic Security Coordinator for the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, working with local, state and federal police. Prior to the games, Mr. Ford worked with top Brazilian Olympic security officials to review security procedures at high-profile events such as the NBA All-Star Game and PGA Tour Championship. Throughout the Olympics, Mr. Ford coordinated the deployment of more than 200 U.S. federal law enforcement officers from multiple agencies. Mr. Ford has held a variety of domestic positions, including two tours as the Director and Deputy Director of the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) and two tours in the Protective Liaison Division, responsible for the protection of foreign embassies in the United States. In addition, Mr. Ford was the Diplomatic Security Service’s representative to the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee. Mr. Ford is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, while also serving a multitude of roles, including Commander of the Capitol Hill Joint Reserve Unit.

RACHEL DONDARSKI

Chief, Regulated Industries Oversight & Evaluation, Sanctions Compliance & Evaluation Division

Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)

Rachel Dondarski is the Chief of Regulated Industries Oversight and Evaluation at the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) where she leads OFAC’s financial sector enforcement process. She manages the agency’s team responsible for investigating violations of U.S. economic sanctions laws committed by regulated financial institutions, including domestic and foreign banks, insurance companies, securities firms, and money services businesses. Prior to assuming this position, Ms. Dondarski was a senior advisor within OFAC’s Sanctions Compliance and Evaluation team, where she worked on some of OFAC’s largest and most complex financial sector investigations, led efforts to expand OFAC’s compliance-focused outreach to foreign financial centers, and routinely interacted with financial industry peers and government partners to discuss sanctions compliance and implementation issues. Since joining OFAC in 2006, Ms. Dondarski has worked in a variety of other roles, all with the common goal of promoting robust sanctions compliance within the financial services and international trade communities.

RANI HONG

CEO

Rani’s Voice

Rani Hong is an Indian-American social entrepreneur and a survivor of child trafficking. She is one of the world’s leading voices in the fight against modern-day slavery.

At the age of seven, Rani was stolen from her mom and sold into the slave trade in India. She was finally reunited with her mother in 1999 and began her advocacy work against child trafficking.

In 2006, Rani started her philanthropic work and founded the Tronie Foundation, a non-profit global organization focused on driving awareness of child slavery, with her husband Trong Hong, also a survivor of child trafficking.

Since 1999, Rani has advised many governments, and has been at the forefront of an international effort to protect women and girls. Her most recent focus has been to eradicate the use of slave labor in all aspects of business. She has worked on behalf of people at risk of exploitation – protecting and empowering vulnerable groups and educating businesses and consumers about modern day slavery.

Rani’s tireless efforts include over several speeches before the UN General Assembly and have met with various world leaders. Including Presidents of the world. In 2011 Rani was appointed by the UN as a special advisor to the United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking, helping to establish the Sustainable Development Goal 8, and establishing the first ever World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. Rani has appeared in numerous broadcast and media interviews including The Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN, BBC, Euro News and other international media. On November 6th, 2017 Rani joined the Press Office of the Holy See to ask for concrete action against human trafficking, in which over 25 journalists helped carry her message around the world and speak for those without a voice.

In 2018, Rani was named Women of the Year for her home country of India.

As a social entrepreneur, Rani created the Freedom Seal, a certification for companies fighting against Human Slavery by committing to mitigate Financial Crime & Modern Slavery. The Freedom Seal symbolizes a future marketplace where forced-labor has been reduced. It represents a dream come true for the estimated 40.3 million people, mostly children and women, still trapped in slavery.

As the world’s first visual marker companies, can use the Freedom Seal, to clearly communicate to consumers they are actively taking steps to prevent forced labor and human trafficking in their supply chains and avoid any kind of Reputational Risk or Damage.

Today, Rani dedicates her time and energy to efforts that lead toward a greater global understanding about human trafficking and continues to speak for those without a voice and for those who are imprisoned, enslaved and silenced, and unable to tell their own stories.

Rani’s ability to overcome trauma, loss and grief has inspired leaders from all over the world to join the global movement against human trafficking.

Rani lives in Olympia, Washington USA with her husband and children.

ROBERT TARG

Founding Partner

Diaz Reus, International Law Firm & Alliance

Robert Targ, formerly an Assistant United States Attorney, Southern District of Florida, is a highly successful international and domestic litigator for individuals and institutions in complex, high-stakes money laundering, fraud, white-collar criminal defense, and customs cases. Mr. Targ also has extensive experience in investigations and cases involving the Office Of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and related petitions for removal of designated individuals and entities from the various OFAC Lists; Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations and/or compliance; political and foreign corruption activities; Anti-Money Laundering compliance and program development; and corporate governance and internal investigations.

SANDRO GARCÍA ROJAS CASTILLO

Vicepresidente de Supervisión de Procesos Preventivos

Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores (México)

Lawyer with various Masters Degrees. Specialist certified in Money Laundering Detection by the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (ACAMS) and by the CNBV in Mexico, among others.

He has been a professor of several national and foreign universities, including the Universidad Panamericana and ITAM in Mexico City; he has been an instructor for the National Supreme Court of Justice in several topics. His academic experience includes Spain, Colombia, US, among others.

He has been involved in various International Forums; he attends as Representative of Mexico in FATF-GAFI, GAFILAT, Council of Europe, United Nations, European Union, among others. He has specialized in topics such as money laundering, terrorist finance, organized crime and corruption.

In his professional career, he has worked in the private sector and in the Federal Government. Among others, Mr. Sandro Garcia Rojas was the Attaché of the Mexican Attorney´s General Office (Procuraduría General de la República) to the European Union and Switzerland; Deputie encharged of the International Affairs Unit in PGR, Deputie of Legal affairs in the Servicio de Aministración y Enajenación de Bienes of the Ministry of Finance.

Since late 2017, when he joined “El Heraldo de México” as columnist for the section “Opinion”, writes about current social topics.

Currently, he serves as Vice President for Supervision of AML/CFT Measures at the Mexican National Banking and Securities Commission.

SPENCER DOAK

Director for BSA/AML Compliance Policy

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)

Spencer Doak is the Director for BSA/AML Compliance Policy for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).  In this role, he directs policy related to BSA/AML and counter-financing of terrorism for OCC examiners and supervised banks.  Prior to his Director role, Spencer served as the OCC’s Large Bank Supervision Compliance Lead Expert, with responsibilities for BSA/AML, as well as consumer protection laws and regulations.  Mr. Doak, also previously held positions at the OCC as a BSA/AML Compliance Policy Specialist and as a regional Compliance Lead Expert.  He joined the OCC from the industry in 1992, initially as a safety and soundness examiner.

THOMAS SPIES

Of Counsel, Assurance, EMEIA Financial Services

Ernst & Young GmbH

Thomas Spies is an Attorney-at-law and has more than 35 years of experience in banking and regulatory matters. He started in 1978 with Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh PA and joined Deutsche Bank in New York, NY in 1981 for which he eventually worked as Managing Director and Group Head AML&CTF from 2001 through 2007. He started in 2008 with KPMG and joined EY in 2016. As subject matter expert Thomas is focused on the prevention of Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing and Other Criminal Offences. He also audits AML&CTF during the obligatory FYE audit, advises his clients, prepares legal opinions and performs quality reviews of AML&CTF related matters. He lectures at numerous domestic and international Schools on AML&CTF issues, worked as Assistant Professor at Munich law School, where he earned his Phd and serves as Captain German Nay Reserve.

TIM MUELLER

Partner, Global Investigations and Compliance (GIC)

Guidehouse

Tim is a member of Guidehouse’s Global Investigations and Compliance (GIC) practice. He leads the technology and data analytics team within GIC which focuses on assisting clients with selection, implementation and review of anti-money laundering (AML) and sanctions screening technology platforms. His team works with clients to: incorporate machine learning and artificial intelligence into current AML platforms; evaluate systems governance; review risk coverage for transaction monitoring detection scenarios and sanctions name matching algorithms; perform system tuning to maximize effectiveness while minimizing false positives; perform model validation projects for AML and sanctions systems; and, support data handling and analytics for large scale file and transaction reviews. Recent projects have involved assisting both regulators and financial institutions with providing the information technology functionality necessary to comply with BSA/AML requirements, including the recent New York State Department of Financial Services Regulation Part 504.

Prior to joining Guidehouse, Tim was a Managing Director/Partner at KPMG Consulting. In addition to his career in consulting, Tim led a real estate investment and property management company, commercial mortgage origination software groups, and a start-up technology company.

WENDY G. LORA PÉREZ

Presidenta de GAFILAT, República Dominicana

Unidad de Análisis Financiero (UAF)

Wendy Lora Pérez, es Abogada, es experta Derecho Internacional, Derecho Penal, Litigación, Derecho económico, prevención y procesamiento de casos de Lavado de Activos, Financiación del Terrorismo, y Anti corrupción.

En su experiencia profesional destacan su paso por el Ministerio Público institución a la que ingreso en el 2006, (actualmente de licencia), en su condición de fiscal antidrogas,

y frente a la fiscalía de crimen organizado de la ciudad capital, lo que le permitió encabezar importantes procesos penales en materia de Lavado de Activos. Así mismo, su rol

como supervisora de prevención de LA/FT del mercado de valores por espacio dos años. Actualmente, dirige la Unidad de Análisis Financiero de la República Dominicana, y representa al país ante los organismos internacionales en temas de Lavado de Activos y Financiación del Terrorismo, entre los que resaltan GAFILAT, del que ostenta la vicepresidencia pro tempore, lo que le ha permitido participar de la discusión de varios procesos

de evaluación, incluyendo la defensa del Informe de Evaluación de su país.

YEHUDA SHAFFER

Consultant

Former Deputy State Attorney and Head of the Israeli FIU

Yehuda is today, and since 2018, an independent consultant after retiring from 30 years of service in the Israeli Government pursuing a legal career specializing in financial crime issues, combined with extensive international experience (including in LATAM) in applying of the FATF standards. He was the founder and head of the Israeli FIU (financial intelligence unit) and served as the deputy state attorney (financial crime) in the Israeli prosecution service. Yehuda has participated in several AML/CFT mutual evaluations, and has provided assistance in several jurisdictions, on various, operational and legal issues regarding ML TF and sanctions, FATF evaluations, conducting risk assessments, compliance programs for financial institutions, and training of supervisors investigators prosecutors and judges.

YOVANIS GONZALEZ

Senior Anti-Money Laundering Specialist

FDIC

Yovanis Gonzalez is a Senior Anti-Money Laundering Examiner in the FDIC South Florida field office. He has over 15-years of government and private-sector experience in the banking industry. He serves as a regional resource in the areas of Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), Anti-Money Laundering (AML), and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). He is responsible for conducting and participating in BSA/AML and OFAC examinations, training, enforcement matters, and policy implementation of the most complex institutions in the Atlanta region. He is also a proud Corporate Recruiter for the FDIC. He is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS). Yovanis holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree of Accounting from Florida International University.