The increasing focus on trade based money laundering as a conduit of illicit financial flow follows years of ever tightening anti money laundering controls. Those seeking to move funds illicitly have had to innovate, and international trade offers many opportunities.

Jesse Spiro, Global Head of Threat Finance and Emerging Risks at Thomson Reuters chats to Khalid Shaikh, Senior Vice President – Head of Compliance and Bank MLRO, Masreqbank, about how why it is important that compliance executives prepare for upcoming regulation.

Financial inclusion is key to economic growth, yet many banks and financial institutions are choosing to de-risk by suspending services to entire sections of the business population. While there are many reasons for derisking, cost is undoubtedly a factor, yet de-risking potentially endangers the stability of the financial system.

James Swenson, Head of Enhanced Due Diligence and Screening Services, Thomson Reuters, chats to Ibtissem Lassoued, Partner – Financial Crime, Al Tamimi & Co, about the extent of the problem of de-risking in MENA and what regulators are doing about it.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) facilitates scheduled peer review evaluations that help governments to benchmark their anti money laundering efforts against a global standard. In the run up to an evaluation it is usual for government policy to be scrutinised and upgraded where necessary, and this will have an impact on organizations. David Shepherd, Market Development Lead for Risk in MENA chats to Dr. Hans-Peter Bauer, Member of the Board, Basel Institute on Governance & Senior Advisor, Wolfsberg Group about what organizations can expect.

The Financial Crime in MENA Report tracks changing norms and standards in compliance across the region. Now in its 4th year, we note moderating budgets while the regulatory burden continues to increase for compliance departments.

Trade based money laundering is receiving increasing attention from regulators. It involves a complex and sophisticated layering of paperwork and touchpoints, and can be difficult to unravel. We speak to Ibrahim El-Adawi, Senior Compliance Consultant at Thomson Reuters, about how organizations can protect themselves.

Recent surveys in the MENA region reveal that the issue of ‘derisking’ – when larger, international banks withdraw their correspondent relationships with smaller regional banks – has become a substantial concern for many MENA-based banks.

David Shepherd, Market Development Lead - Risk (Middle East & North Africa), Thomson Reuters, chats to Antoine Hobeiche from React … Adapt … Lead Consulting and Dr Ali Awdeh from the Union of Arab Banks about the scale of the issue and the steps that banks can take to protect their relationships with their international partners.

The task of complying with anti money laundering regulation has never been so complicated. The collection, analysis and management of client data to meet regulatory demands and find hidden risk has become an increasingly complex and laborious task. Automation will help to reduce some of the burden of the task, yet the growing role of technology in compliance brings is own set of challenges.

Martin Wood, the Head of Financial Crime for Thomson Reuters, chats with Khaled Alhuneidi and Adrianus Schrool, both of whom are AML specialists and lawyers with Allen & Overy in Dubai, about the future of AML and the challenges of data management.

FATF assessments can have a substantial impact on countries and on the organizations that are based there. Andy Critchlow, the Middle East editor for Breakingviews, chats to Abdul Hafiz Mansour, the Secretary General of the Special Investigation Commission FIU Lebanon & Vice Chairman, Egmont Group, about the impact of FATF on the MENA region.

Risk management of the supply chain has been a constantly expanding and challenging task over the past few years, but as we enter 2017, the need for a robust and effective compliance policy has never been stronger. James Swenson, Global Head of Proposition for Risk Managed Services at Thomson Reuters, speaks to Carla Koffel, Executive Director at The Pearl Initiative, the Gulf business-led, non-profit organisation that works to promote a corporate culture of accountability and transparency as a key driver of competitiveness across the region.

Why is whistleblowing such a contentious subject and what is it that makes it so difficult for people to come forward when they have evidence of wrong-doing in corporate organizations? James Swenson, Global Head of Proposition for Risk Managed Services at Thomson Reuters chats to Wendy Addison, the CEO of SpeakOut SpeakUp, about the complexities of whistleblowing and why it is becoming an increasingly important issue for the MENA region.