14th Compliance and Anti-Money Laundering Event

About CAML

The 14th Compliance and Anti-Money Laundering (CAML) seminar returns in its 14th edition on the 20th of March 2023, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. CAML is organized by The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), Anti-Money Laundering Permanent Committee (AMLPC) and Refinitiv (An LSEG Business) and is held under the patronage of His Excellency Mr. Ayman Alsayari, Governor of The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA).

CAML was first held in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2008, the event was in response to increasing regulatory pressure and compliance complexity in the wake of the financial crisis.

08:00 - 09:00

Registration and Networking

09.00 – 09.10

Keynote Address

H.E. Mr. Ayman Al-Sayari

Governor of Saudi Central Bank, Chairman of the Anti-Money Laundering Permanent Committee (AMLPC)

09.10 – 09.20

Welcoming Address

Nadim Najjar

Managing Director, Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa (CEEMA), London Stock Exchange Group

09.20 - 10.20

Panel Session 1: Global Regulatory Developments

Session Overview

The AML regulatory landscape continues to evolve at a rapid pace to adapt to new challenges and address weaknesses in existing frameworks. FATF, for example, has been actively working on strengthening its standard on beneficial ownership transparency on legal arrangements and expects to finalize revisions to this standard in 2023. The inter-governmental body has also produced a third targeted update on the global implementation of its standards on virtual assets and virtual asset service providers. With the EU’s anti-money laundering reforms soon coming into effect, the UK establishing its own AML regulatory path, and the US enacting new legislation last year, major changes are ahead for financial professionals. This session will discuss the latest AML regulatory developments and what financial institutions can do to prepare for 2023 and beyond.

Sultan Alhejaili

Senior AML/CTF Compliance supervisor, Saudi Central Bank (SAMA)

Altaf Dossa

Regulatory and Governance Advisor

Basel Nasser Al-Mojel

General Manager, AML/CFT, National Center for Non-Profit Sector

Nawaf Ahmed Bubshait

Head, Compliance Examination Financial Institutions, Central Bank of Bahrain

David Shepherd

Global Head of Strategy, Risk Intelligence, London Stock Exchange Group

10.20 – 11.20

Panel Session 2: Latest Challenges in Proliferation Financing

Session Overview

The global security landscape today is more complex and unpredictable than it has ever been. From organized crime and terrorism to cyber-enabled espionage, the security challenges that the world faces are immense, and proliferation financing (PF) is no different. While international standards and requirements on PF have rapidly evolved in the past few years, there is still limited understanding with regard to how the PF’s risks are identified and assessed, and the tools that can be used to mitigate them. As financial transactions become more globalized and technology-driven, the risks faced by financial institutions in PF are also changing. In October 2020, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) updated its standards to address the growing threat of illicit proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Specifically, it amended Recommendations 1 that require countries and the private sector to identify, assess, and understand the risks of potential breaches, non-implementation, or evasion of PF-related financial sanctions and the measures that can be implemented effectively mitigate the PF’s risks that a country faces In June 2021, FATF issued a new guidance on PF risk assessment and mitigation. Additionally, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) imposes global and country-specific prohibitions related to PF. FATF’s Recommendation 7 requires all countries to implement financial sanctions to comply with the UNSC’s two resolutions. Meanwhile, the EU’s new AML package addresses the subject of PF risk in alignment with FATF. In this session, international experts in financial crime will look at how PF risks are identified and assessed, including the measures to mitigate the PF’s risks, discuss the latest trends and risks, including red flags in PF, and the role of the financial sector in preventing PF, potential loopholes that could arise and how to mitigate them, and best practices for the effective implementation of PF-related sanctions.

Suliman Aljabrin

Executive Secretary, Middle East & North Africa, Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF)

Ibtissem Lassoued

Partner, Head of Advisory, Regional Financial Crime Practice, Al Tamimi & Company Law Firm

Abdullah Alosaimi

VP. Head of AML\CTF, Bank AlJazira

Tony Salamone

US Treasury Financial Attaché, Kingdoms of Saudi Arabia & Bahrain

Mashel Alabdullatif

Manager, AML & CFT Inspection Unit, Capital Market Authority

Session Sponsored By

11.20 – 11.40

Networking Break

11.40 – 12.40

Panel Session 3: Cyber-Enabled Fraud Crime

Session Overview

Cybercrimes are spreading at an incredibly accelerated pace globally due to exceptional and rapid development in financial services, particularly during corona pandemic, creating more opportunity for cross-border crime, including online fraud/scam to accrue and in this era of instant and remote payments, conventional approaches to financial crime prevention are losing their effectiveness. Traditionally, AML was about compliance, fraud programs were about detecting and resolving fraud, and cybersecurity was about preventing cyber threats. However, as more financial activity takes place digitally, the lines between these three activities are increasingly becoming blurred. Indeed, most cyberattacks on banks show the convergence of AML, fraud, and cyberbreaches. To close the gaps in financial crime risk management, modern banking requires stronger and faster risk detection. This, in turn, calls for more collaboration and data sharing between previously fragmented teams. This session will explore the current reality and assessment of global threats, the emerging ML/TF risks associated with cyber-enabled fraud.it will look at what fraud and AML leaders should be doing to bring together cyber intelligence, fraud prevention, and AML activities. It will also look at global best practices, including through evolving data sets and technologies such as machine learning, biometrics, and digital intelligence to strengthening financial fraud detection, prevention, and investigative capabilities.

Gerard McDonnell

Regional Solutions Director, Banking & Insurance Fraud, EME - AP, SAS

Mana AlDohan

AGM Compliance, Head of Antifraud & ABC, The Saudi British Bank

Sultana El-Sayed

Managing Director, Head of Forensic Investigations, Intelligence Saudi Arabia, Kroll

Elias Kokaly

Head of Deployment Strategy, TRM Labs

Hazem Mulhim

Founder and CEO, Eastnets

Vishal Relhan

Director, Customer, Third Party Risk & Risk Managed Services, London Stock Exchange Group

Session Sponsored By

12:40 - 13:40

Lunch

13:40 - 14:40

Panel Session 4: Financial Inclusion -The Impact of a Non-Risk Based Approach

Session Overview

AML regulations are changing across the world from rule based to risk based. Many FIs have already transitioned from a tick-box to a risk-based approach to AML compliance. This is less burdensome when assessing lower risk sectors or activities and is critical for increasing financial inclusion of unserved/underserved individuals and businesses. On the other hand, applying an overly cautious, non-risk-based approach to AML safeguards when providing financial services can unintentionally lead to the exclusion of legitFimate consumers and businesses. This session will explore the different ways financial institutions are facilitating financial inclusion and their role in the correct application of the risk-based approach. Looking at practical scenarios, panelists will discuss how FIs are driving risk-based compliance in a manner that is proportionate to the risks identified, to avoid contributing to de-risking or financial exclusion.

Abdulrahman AlShabib

AML/CFT Supervisor, Saudi Central Bank (SAMA)

Qaiser Noor

Advisor, Chief Executive, Riyad Bank

Mustafa Adil

Head of Islamic Finance, Data & Analytics, London Stock Exchange Group

Syed Muhammad Ali

CEO & Co-founder, myZoi Financial Inclusion Technologies

Shouq Al Fawaz

General Manager of Governance, Risk and Compliance, Ministry of Economy and Planning

14.40 – 15.40

Panel Session 5: Outsourcing AML Activities - The Opportunities and Challenges

Session Overview

Against the development of increasingly sophisticated money laundering methods, financial institutions have a crucial role to play as gatekeepers. With the global shortage of AML talent, many financial institutions have been outsourcing AML duties. This practice not only solves the challenge of finding skilled expertise, but it also frees up existing staff so they can take on other functions and can ultimately lower overhead expenses. Yet, outsourcing sensitive AML tasks exposes FIs to a variety of risks as it makes it easier for criminals to exploit weaknesses and hack into systems. While outsourcing can be a cost-effective way of managing AML compliance, how far can a FI go in offloading its AML compliance tasks to an outside party? What activities are appropriate for outsourcing and which tasks should be handled in-house only? Are there regulations that prohibit the outsourcing of AML tasks? This session will discuss the risks and benefits that come with outsourcing AML activities and the measures that can be taken to reduce these risks.