The Trade Finance Compliance Conference

Participate in an interactive decision-making forum with practical outputs

Delegates will explore a realistic trade finance case as it evolves throughout the day, challenging assumptions, testing responses and shaping practical takeaways.

Technology in a practical context

Technology outputs are tested through use cases, with a focus on data quality, reliance, explainability and decision value.

Cross-sector expertise & senior networking

Banks, legal advisers, insurers, commodities specialists, technology providers and financial crime experts come together in a curated setting to share perspectives and build connections.

Interpret complex risk signals when ownership, goods, pricing, routing, sanctions and maritime indicators point in different directions.

Assess decision options under pressure, including when to proceed, pause, escalate, reject or seek further information.

See technology applied and leveraged, from AI and OCR to sanctions screening, maritime intelligence and network analytics.

Compare institutional and human responses, including how different banks and trade ecosystem stakeholders manage escalation and commercial pressure.

Session
Arrival coffee, registration and vendor trailers
Welcome and introduction
Keynote: the new trade finance risk map
Panel 1: Where trade compliance really breaks
Coffee break
Technical deep dive: dual-use goods, export controls and high-priority items
Case Lab 1
Networking lunch
Panel 2: Fraud, TBML and credit risk — one fact pattern, three silos
Coffee break
Panel 3: Maritime, logistics and sanctions evasion
Case Lab 2
Hot-seat debate: Should banks be expected to police the physical supply chain?
Close
Drinks reception

Trade finance risk is rarely defined by a single red flag. It emerges when commercial urgency, ambiguous information, opaque ownership, sanctions exposure, maritime complexity and technology outputs must all be assessed at speed, often across different teams, systems and risk appetites.

Hosted by HKA and IIBLP, the Trade Finance Compliance Conference convenes a curated audience from across the trade ecosystem. The day combines expert panels, audience participation and an evolving case scenario that introduces new facts, intelligence and escalation pressures throughout the programme.

Designed for banks of all sizes and the wider trade ecosystem, the event examines how complex risk calls are made in practice. Delegates will hear from leading industry voices, see solutions applied to real-world case facts, and test how judgment, challenge, and escalation come together under pressure.

Priya is a specialist in financial crime investigations and compliance, bringing 30 years of experience across anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist & proliferation financing, sanctions evasion, anti-bribery & corruption, fraud, and tax evasion. As an experienced Skilled Person, she has led numerous Section 166 reviews and produced authoritative reports on financial institutions' compliance with UK laws and regulatory requirements. Priya works closely with financial institutions to design and deliver proportionate, meaningful and defensible risk assessments that stand up to third-party scrutiny.

Priya Giuliani

Financial Crime Investigations & Compliance | HKA

Michael Byrne is the Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of International Banking Law & Practice (IIBLP), where he leads a team dedicated to driving innovation and achieving remarkable growth. With over 20 years of experience, including six in trade finance and financial crimes, Byrne's expertise lies in strategic planning, community and constituent engagement, and providing offerings to match industry needs.

Michael Byrne

Chief Executive Officer, IIBLP | HKA

Adrianna Fabijanska is an expert in financial crime and market abuse risk across digital and crypto assets, financial markets and capital markets, bringing more than 16 years of experience spanning frontline regulatory supervision, global second-line leadership and MLRO accountability at major European banking groups.

A former regulator and most recently Global Head of Financial Crime Compliance and MLRO for Investment Banking at ING, she provided second-line risk stewardship for the establishment of Qivalis, the first European stablecoin consortium, alongside tokenisation initiatives, Bitcoin treasury IPOs and trade surveillance and transaction monitoring for complex trading businesses. Adrianna works closely with banks, trading firms and asset managers to design risk appetite, frameworks and controls for emerging asset classes that are proportionate, defensible and aligned with FCA and European supervisory expectations.

Adrianna Fabijanska

Former Global Head of Financial Crime Compliance and MLRO for Investment Banking | ING

Julia Rusu is a Vice President in Trade and Working Capital Finance at Crown Agents Bank, possessing a rare cross-functional grounding across the front office, second-line compliance, and operations. Over a decade, she has built deep expertise navigating diverse regulatory landscapes across the UK, EU, Middle East, the Caribbean, Africa and Central America.

Her field-tested authority includes leading 50+ onsite correspondent banking reviews globally and architecting critical institutional infrastructure, including client risk assessment frameworks, horizon scanning, and geographic risk models. Beyond oversight, Julia spearheads the design and risk assessment of new Trade Finance and Working Capital products, embedding compliance directly into the product lifecycle. This unique ability to see risk, process, and commercial reality from every seat at the table allows her to bridge the gap between revenue generation and rigorous defense. She serves as a strategic enabler who effectively aligns regulatory requirements with corporate strategy to drive safe, sustainable business growth.

Julia Rusu

Vice President in Trade and Working Capital Finance | Crown Agents Bank

David assists in overseeing the daily operations of the International Maritime Bureau and co-ordinates with the IMB’s banking, shipping, and insurance members with regards to trade finance fraud, document manipulation, cargo mis-delivery, theft, sanctions issues and loss prevention. David supervises IMB investigations and casework and has carried out investigations into several large-scale shipping and financial frauds and conducted on the ground investigations into smuggling and cargo mis-declaration.

David regularly provides expert testimony and witness statements to financial regulators and law enforcement. He also leads IMB training seminars and regularly speaks at conferences and seminars about trade finance fraud, cargo theft and maritime sanctions.

David Cuckney

Director - ICC- Commercial Crime Services (ICC-CCS) | Assistant Director – International Maritime Bureau (IMB)

Deepesh Patel is managing director and editor-in-chief of Trade Treasury Payments (TTP), the independent media and intelligence platform connecting market participants in liquidity and risk management.

With over a decade of experience in financial media, Deepesh is a recognised industry voice. He has conducted thousands of interviews with C-suite leaders, policymakers, and market experts, and is the host of the Trade Treasury Payments podcast and video channel. A regular moderator at high-level forums including BAFT, ITFA, and the EBRD, he is known for challenging discussions that deliver clarity.
Deepesh has appeared on Bloomberg, Financial Times, and The Economist and worked on reports for the WTO, ADB, ICC, and Commonwealth Secretariat. As a journalist and editor, he has authored and commissioned market reports, whitepapers, and analyses that have helped inform decision-making, uncover market shifts, and move conversations forward across trade and treasury. He also played a key role in shaping the taxonomy of “tradetech” and digital trade infrastructure.

Under his leadership, TTP is building a niche as an impartial and independent media brand, delivering strategic communications, data, and multimedia to a global audience of market participants.

Deepesh Patel

Managing Director and Editor-in-chief | Trade Treasury Payments (TTP)

Independent Consultant on Trade Finance & Compliance, UK. 40 years with HSBC - on the international executive staff, serving countries in the Middle East & East Africa, on the UK Group executive staff, specialising in Trade Finance operations, procedures, finance, compliance. Recently, consultancy with Standard Chartered Bank. Neil held many ICC positions, e.g. Former Chair, Wolfsberg Group Trade Finance Committee; Joint Wolfsberg Group; Financial Crimes & Anti-Terrorist Financing Group; ICC & BAFT drafting group for the “Compliance Principles Paper; former Chair of the Executive Committee;).

Neil Chantry

Independent Consultant

Sarah Bray is a senior financial crime and regulatory professional with over 25 years of experience across global financial services, regulatory supervision, and compliance leadership. She is a former Head of Compliance Oversight (CF10) and MLRO (SMF 17). She specialises in making complex global regulations work in practice, developing pragmatic, technology-enabled compliance and financial crime programmes for banking, non-banking financial institutions, market infrastructure providers, and public sectors. Sarah also brings extensive regulatory experience from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and its predecessor, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), where she managed supervision of banks, investment firms, and market infrastructure, led complex risk assessments and s166 reviews, and acted as a subject matter expert in wholesale supervision. Her career began in internal audit, building a strong foundation in governance, risk, and control frameworks that continues to underpin her leadership today.

Sarah Bray

Board Adviser

With over 20 years of experience, Graham has held numerous senior compliance roles. He has worked at Legal & General, Citi, HSBC in London and Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore. Additionally, he served as the Chief Compliance Officer/MLRO for a digital trade bank in Abu Dhabi. Throughout his career, Graham has been actively involved in the industry, co-authoring papers for organizations such as the International Chamber of Commerce, the Wolfsberg Group, and the Coalition to Fight Financial Crime. He has also participated in various industry forums and currently serves as the co-chair for the Financial Crime Working Group at the International Trade and Forfeiting Association.

Graham holds a Professional Doctorate in Criminal Justice from Portsmouth University and has published several journal articles on financial crime in the financial services sector. Alongside his academic pursuits, he has a passion for raising awareness of the true risks in trade finance and aims to steer compliance efforts towards efficiently mitigating financial crime whilst ensuring the availability of trade finance for all, a task that comes with its own set of challenges.

Graham Baldock

Financial Crime Compliance Risk Director in Trade Finance | Citi London

Jin is a sanctions and financial crime specialist with 15+ years' of experience designing and governing Sanctions and AML/CTF control frameworks and regulatory change in financial services. Jin is responsible for setting the strategy and approach for Quantexa's Sanctions Circumvention solution, working with clients to enhance risk detection and drive greater efficiencies in assessing and mitigating their sanctions and export control risk.

Jin’s prior roles include Global Head of Financial Crime Risk Assessment at a tier 1 APAC bank, and leading sanctions and AML/CTF engagements with UK and global banks to program reviews, transform systems and controls, support historical OFAC investigations and responses to sanctions regulatory enforcement action.

Jinesh Amin

Head of Sanctions Circumvention | Quantexa

Geoff has extensive experience in banking and finance, specifically in corporate and international finance, trade, structured trade and commodity finance, electronic banking and digitizing trade finance, structured finance, asset and project finance, syndicated lending, equipment leasing, workouts and financing restructuring and general commercial matters.

Recognised as one of the leading trade finance lawyers globally, Geoff advises many of the major trade finance banks and financial institutions around the world on trade and commodity transactions in virtually every emerging market including in the CIS, Asia, India, Africa and Latin America. He has worked on many structured trade transactions covering such diverse commodities as oil, nickel, steel, tobacco, cocoa and coffee.

Geoff also acts extensively for industry bodies including BAFT (the Bankers Association for Finance & Trade), ITFA (the International Trade and Forfaiting Association) and the ICC (the International Chamber of Commerce) on documentation and rules promulgated by them in trade finance.

The team which Geoff leads has won numerous awards and recognition for its work in the Trade and Export Finance industry. In 2026, Sullivan was honored as "Best Law Firm – Trade and Commodities" at the inaugural Trade, Treasury & Payments (TTP) Awards. In 2023, Sullivan was named Best Export Finance Law Firm at the GTR’s Leaders in Trade Awards, 2023. This followed the award for ‘Best trade or supply chain finance law firm’ at the 2022 GTR Leaders in Trade Awards, and ‘Best Trade Finance Law Firm’ by Trade Finance Global (TFG) in its International Trade Awards, 2022.

Geoff is ranked in Chambers UK, 2026 as a ‘Star Individual’ – the only lawyer in the UK included in this new category – and is included in the ‘Hall of Fame’ for Trade Finance by The Legal 500 UK, 2026 and is recognised as a Leading Lawyer (Market Leader) in the United Kingdom by IFLR1000, 2025.

Geoffrey Wynne

Sullivan & Worcester