Akash Bhagat welcomed Nikhil Sharma, Global Head for Financial Crime Compliance at E-Clerx, to discuss fintech and innovation, focusing specifically on Financial Crime Compliance (FCC), which manages transactions after the initial AML/KYC process and addresses the immense scale of money laundering, estimated at $3 to $4 trillion annually. Nikhil Sharma detailed their nearly two-decade career, the critical impact of global events like the 9/11 attacks, the 2007 financial crisis, and the Panama Papers on compliance, and E-Clerx use of AI and products like "Compliance Manager" to manage complex global regulatory requirements and enhance operational excellence. Both Akash Bhagat and Nikhil Sharma reflected on the value of the Emerging Leader Program in shifting their problem-solving perspectives, and Nikhil Sharma advised that future success in the financial ecosystem requires mastering one domain while being technology-literate due to the increasing complexity of fraud and virtual asset service providers.