The Trade Finance Compliance Conference

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.

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.

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;).

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. 

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.

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.

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.

Ian Rigby is a financial crime compliance professional with expertise in trade finance, sanctions, and anti-money laundering. He has spent his career in various First and Second Line of Defence roles, primarily focused on trade-based financial crime.

Arjun has over 15 years experience in regulatory advisory and geopolitical risk experience having worked across banking, trade and energy sectors as a legal professional, compliance officer and risk consultant. He is the Global Head of Financial Crime Advisory and Geopolitical Risk at Banco Santander SA, and has held roles as the Chair of Associate Members Sanctions Panel at UK Finance and on the ACAMS Sanctions Taskforce. Arjun has held previous roles as UK Head of Sanctions and Global Head of Trade Compliance, with deep sanctions, financial crime and geopolitical risk experience.

For over 23 years Lorna Strong advised HSBC, including a decade in London as Managing Director and global lead counsel for HSBC Global Trade, a business that annually facilitates over USD740 billion of trade with access to 90% of all global trade flows. She provided legal advice, policy development, and risk management to the business and senior executives and played a lead role in shaping HBSC’s contribution to current regulatory and policy debates. As Deputy General Counsel, she managed HSBC legal counsel in over 50 jurisdictions, advising HSBC on areas as diverse as trade finance, bank policy and regulation, cross border and M&A transactions, digital transformation, economic sanctions, international disputes and crisis management, as well as ESG financing.

In 2024, Lorna left HSBC to join LSE (the London School of Economics & Political Science) as Associate Programme Director of the MSc Law and Finance Programme and to set up Strong Consulting Group, bringing her expertise directly to corporates and the finance industry. She continues as a member of the ICC (International Chamber of Commerce), Legal Committee and is also a regular lecturer with the ICC, the Institute of International Banking Law & Practice, London Institute of Banking & Finance, and BCR Receivables Finance & Alternative Finance Forums.

Boasting over 23 years of global experience in AML and KYC compliance, Pradeep is renowned for his visionary approach to transforming complex regulations into actionable strategies. Pradeep's dynamic speaking style and deep insights have made him a sought-after keynote speaker on international stages.

As a leader in merging technology with human intelligence for innovative compliance solutions, Pradeep continues to champion collaboration, innovation, and ethical practices in the industry. With ACAMS and ACFCS certifications, he is committed to guiding us toward a future of enhanced AML and KYC standards in an evolving financial landscape.

Todd Bose is a financial crime risk and regulatory compliance leader with extensive international banking experience across London, Hong Kong, Singapore and New York. With expertise spanning financial crime compliance, regulatory technology, trade finance and digital transformation, he has led diverse global teams and delivered practical solutions to complex regulatory challenges. 

A strong advocate for collaboration and innovation, Todd brings a global perspective and a deep interest in the intersection of financial crime prevention, artificial intelligence, digitalization, sustainable finance and operational resilience. 

He is passionate about supporting the industry's continued evolution through thought leadership and cross-sector engagement. 

Robert is a former MLRO (SMF17) with a career spanning major international banks including Commerzbank AG, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase, RBS and ABN AMRO. He has direct experience of working through regulatory enforcement action and the remediation programmes that follow, with regulatory engagement across the FCA, OCC, DNB, HKMA, MAS and DFSA. That work has repeatedly brought him to the same fault line this panel addresses: the gap between what the trade documentation says, what the shipment actually is, and what the bank is realistically able to see. 

Through Authentica, Robert advises financial institutions and corporates on trade-based money laundering, sanctions and export control exposure, and on the design of controls that are effective rather than merely defensible. He writes and speaks regularly on trade finance financial crime risk and convenes practitioner-level training at the Middle Temple. 

Robert is a non-practising Barrister of the Middle Temple, MCIArb and MRUSI, and holds an LLB (Hons). He served eleven years with the Metropolitan Police in street crime and organised crime.

Alex has held the role of Senior Business Development Manager with Complidata since 2023 and developed the firm’s reach and capabilities ever since.  As Head of Trade and Transactional Banking, Alex Gray is responsible for all of LIBF’s trade qualifications and training. He joined the organisation after 30 years in international banking which saw him conduct a number of different banking roles overseas as part of HSBC’s international manager cadre. Within that time he specialised in trade finance and led teams in India, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vancouver and the UK. 

Alex developed HSBC’s first anti trade-based money laundering programme adopted across the group globally. His awareness of trade-based financial crime was heightened further when he and his team of 200 had to prepare for a visit from the US Department of Justice under HSBC’s DPA. 

Byron McKinney is currently the Senior Director of Global Risk Insights at Dow Jones, where they oversee critical risk assessments and strategic initiatives. Previously, they served as the Global Product Head for Trade Compliance at S&P Global Market Intelligence and as the Head of Product for Trade Compliance at Accuity. Byron’s extensive experience also includes a long tenure at Thomson Reuters, where they held the role of Senior Business Manager in Energy and Shipping, and earlier as a Coal Analyst at Databuild Consulting. He has over 20 years of experience across the commodity and trade finance markets gained from leading commercial business teams. Byron has contributed to articles in Politico, Global Trade Review and Trade Winds and has authored papers on maritime sanctions evasion and the identification of strategic goods risk in trade documentation. He holds a BA (Hons) degree in Economic History and continues to learn Farsi. 

Ravi is responsible for providing expertise, knowledge, and valuable insight to customers, helping them to reduce global supply chain compliance risk, and provide transparency in the Maritime and Trade Finance sector through incorporating in-depth risk and compliance procedures. Ravi has more than 10 years' industry experience in relation to trade finance compliance, covering global sanctions compliance, regional export control regulation including dual-use and military goods and vessel compliance covering sanctions and behavioural analytics to name a few. He has provided comprehensive trade compliance knowledge to multiple clients including trade finance banks and freight forwarders across North America, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. 

Doaa has 30 years of banking experience across local and multinational banks, covering Trade Finance, Commercial Banking and Retail Banking Operations. 

She is a Chartered Associate of the London Foundation of Banking & Finance and holds several professional qualifications, including CTFC, CITF, CDCSAdv, CSCF, QTFE, PDipB&F and AdvDipB&F.