11th October, 2022 09:00 Webinar Financial Crime Compliance: A Global Outlook Webinar

Dr. Helga Buttigieg Debono was appointed as the Executive Head of the National Coordinating Committee for Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism Secretariat in June 2018.  She currently leads a team of professionals including strategic and implementation analysts involved in assessing the risks attributed to Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism.  The Secretariat she leads is responsible for the coordination of the various competent authorities currently involved in the prevention of money laundering and financing of terrorism.  This Secretariat also aims to facilitate not only the cooperation but also the sharing of intelligence between the participating stakeholders so that the local system may effectively address the deduction and prevention of all money-laundering related crimes in order to ensure the stability and integrity of Malta’s economy.  This Secretariat is the administrative arm of the National Coordinating Committee for Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism. Dr. Buttigieg Debono holds a B.A. (Hon) degree in Contemporary Mediterranean Studies where she read subjects including Anthropology, Geography, History and International Relations.  She also holds a Doctorate of Laws degree and was granted a warrant to practice in the Maltese Courts as a lawyer in 2012. Prior to being appointed in her current role, Dr Buttigieg Debono served as a Police Inspector within the Maltese Police Force where, as high-ranking official she acquired experience in the field after serving within the Economic Crimes Unit and Money Laundering Sections. This position helped her develop investigative skills, management experience, and prosecution abilities. After resigning from the Police Force in 2006, she acquired her Doctorate in Law and was granted her warrant to practice as a private lawyer.  She has served in the Criminal and Civil Courts and is versed in court procedures and litigation.  Before engaging in her current role, Dr Buttigieg Debono was also previously employed as a lawyer specialised in the vetting of contracts with a leading Maltese bank and has also served as member of the board of two government authorities.

Matthew Scicluna joined the MFSA in 2010, after a 2-year stint with a local bank, and has extensive experience in financial services regulation, risk management, supervision, focusing on AML/CFT and combatting financial crime. At the MFSA, he has held various positions within the Securities and Markets Supervision function, the Conduct Supervisory function and the Enforcement (AML/CFT section) function. Throughout his career, Matthew has been involved in a number of projects and assignments and worked on several major investigations related to ML and TF, currently representing the MFSA in various evaluations conducted by international bodies. He represented the MFSA within various Committees of the European Supervisory Authorities and is currently involved in a number of European network groups related to financial crime compliance. He also sits on the National Coordination Committee. He also attends sessions of the recently established Standing Committee on AML/CFT, which is a permanent internal committee of the EBA. Matthew holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons), Banking and Finance and the Master of Arts in Financial Services, from the University of Malta.He continued to specialise in financial services, completing an International Diploma in Anti-Money Laundering and an International Diploma in Financial Crime Prevention, both from the University of Manchester. He also possesses Crypto Currency Investigator accreditation from the Blockchain Intelligence Group.

Camille Pepos is a Deputy Head within the Fintech Supervision function of the MFSA which is entrusted with the authorisation and supervision of VFA Service Providers, VFA Agents and Whitepapers. An Economist by academic background, Camille also possesses two Master degrees in Finance and Wealth Management from the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis and IAE Graduate School of Management. Before joining the MFSA, Camille held various roles in private banking, fundraising, fintech advisory and corporate services.

Andrew Said was appointed Deputy Head of the MFSA’s Internal Audit Function in October 2019. Andrew joined the Authority in 2012, following a number of years working with operators in the financial services industry. He spent six years working at the Securities and Markets Supervision Function, where he was responsible for the Investment Firms team, before moving to the Internal Audit Function. Throughout his career at the MFSA, Andrew was also responsible for transposing and implementing various pieces of European financial services legislation in the field of securities. Andrew holds a B.Com (Hons.) in Banking and Finance. He has been invited as a speaker at various conferences and has also participated in international regulatory fora, including working groups of the European Securities and Markets Authority.

Gerd Sapiano is the Deputy Head within the Strategy, Policy, and Innovation function of the Malta Financial Services Authority. Throughout his time at the Authority, Gerd has been heavily involved in the drafting of various legislative instruments, supervision of investment firms, as well as the investigation of a number of firm specific issues. He is currently focusing his efforts on strategy and policy initiatives. Gerd has a law degree (LL.D.) and a Masters in financial services (M.A. Fin Ser.) from the University of Malta.  

Pierpaolo Fratangelo is Head of the AML/CFT Control Unit at the Bank of Italy. He is member of the Italian delegation to FATF/GAFI and a representative of the Bank of Italy to the Basel Committee AML Expert Group. He was formerly a teaching assistant at the University of Rome “La Sapienza” (2011-2012) and at LUISS – Guido Carli (2007-2009). He has served as co-editor of the International Encyclopaedia for Labour Law and Industrial Relations. He has written numerous articles on anti-money laundering, monetary and financial law, cyber law and European law. He received a DES in European Law from the Université Libre de Bruxelles, 1997. He graduated magna cum laude in Law from the University of Siena in 1995.

Emily Benson was appointed Head of Conduct Supervision in March 2020. Emily is a UK regulatory lawyer with over 30 years of experience in the Financial Services sector. After qualifying as a solicitor in private practice, her career has included senior positions with the UK’s financial services regulator, then the FSA, and in-house with a high profile bank and a leading insurer. She has also worked for private firms and with a global consultancy firm. Her clients have been from all retail sectors and she is highly experienced in all forms of regulatory investigations and reviews, including leading reviews commissioned by the FCA under its skilled persons regime. Recently as Department Head in a leading UK law firm, she has advised on all types of regulatory processes including authorisations, compliance and corporate governance requirements for investment firms, intermediaries and banks and has led complex investigations and remediation projects. In addition to leading the regulator’s cross sectoral supervision of conduct, Emily will be continuing the regulator’s supervision of trustees and corporate service providers.

Claudia Callus joined the FIAU as in 2019 and currently heads the Supervision Section. In her role, Ms Callus is responsible for leading and overseeing the supervision function of the FIAU and for co-ordinating the monitoring of AML/CFT compliance of subject persons across all sectors. Prior to joining the FIAU, Ms Callus worked with one of the big four audit firms, where she was mainly involved in risk management, internal audits, project management, financial investigations and other assurance engagements, predominately in the financial sector. She has also worked in the field of internal audit with a key institution within the Maltese banking sector. She is an Associate of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and a member of the Malta Institute of Accountants.