At the heart of Dr. Bryane Michael’s conversation with Regulatory Ramblings host Ajay Shamdasani is whether FinTech can help solve the social, financial, and economic problems previous generations like the Baby Boomers contributed to. They discuss whether Gen-Z's potentially decentralized world of finance will look radically different from ours.  Gen-Zers and now Gen Alpha will grow up in a world designed and run almost exclusively by baby boomers. The DBS power outage was supposedly partly...

Strengthening financial services with multi-modal biometrics Ep 33 with Bala Kumar, Chief Product Officer at Jumio Against a backdrop of rising AI-fuelled phishing attacks in the Asia-Pacific, in this episode of Regulatory Ramblings, Bala Kumar chats with host Ajay Shamdasani how such developments will affect the landscape of online identity fraud, and how such threats will evolve and, if possible, be anticipated moving forward. They discuss how can businesses effectively counteract the...

Michael Heller, VP, Head of Financial Crime Proposition at Dow Jones Risk & Research Based in Los Angeles and having been with Dow Jones for a decade, Michael Heller is currently responsible for corporate strategy and go-to-market, globally, for the Financial Crime Compliance (FCC) business. He draws from a background as an entrepreneur, attorney, sales executive, and advisor to ensure clients building efficient compliance and risk management programs leverage the right data and...

Episode 31 - Professor Dirk A. Zetzsche, University of Luxembourg (Topic/Chapter Guide is availabe) Professor Dr. Dirk A. Zetzsche, holder of the ADA Chair in Financial Law (inclusive finance) at the University of Luxembourg, is also a co-author of the recently released book, FinTech: Finance, Technology and Regulation (LINK), published by Cambridge University Press, which he collaborated on with Professor Ross P. Buckley of the University of New South Wales - Sydney and Professor Douglas W....

As HK FinTech Week 2023 approaches (October 30-November 5), Karena and Karen join Regulatory Ramblings' host, Ajay Shamdasani, to preview the event. They explore the synergy between diverse backgrounds in the tech space, emphasizing the value of different perspectives and continuous learning. Karena and Karen also share insights on AngelHub's role in democratizing tech investment, the changing landscape of crowdfunding, and Hong Kong's potential as a FinTech hub. About Karena Belin:...

Walter Jennings, Founder of Asia Insight Circle  Walter is a branding and communications veteran – and someone who has increasingly become a voice of influence in Hong Kong’s FinTech and Web3 scene over the past decade. He currently owns and manages Asia Insight Circle, a private members group of C-suite executives. The group meets monthly for frank discussions on critical local business issues and its membership roster represents a diverse swath of the city’s commercial players.  Prior to...

Ep 28 with Sinyee Koh, Director of Compliance & Regulatory Consulting at Integrity Consulting in Singapore  A Singaporean to her core, Sinyee also called Hong Kong home for a time. As an admitted solicitor and advocate in the Lion City, she is also a licensed solicitor in Hong Kong and a solicitor-advocate in England and Wales. She is also admitted to practice in the US state of New York. Beyond having practiced law, Sinyee has also worked at multiple consulting firms such as Kroll and...

Vivien Khoo is the Chairman and co-founder of the Asia Crypto Alliance, an industry association that promotes the growth and development, as well as safeguarding the reputation, of virtual assets providers in Asia. She is also a Senior Advisor of StashAway, a digital wealth management platform with more than USD 1bn of assets under management and the APAC Advisor of Delphi Digital, an independent research boutique providing institutional-grade analysis on the digital asset market.  After a...

Episode 26 With Abhishek Bali, CEO and Co-Founder of ZIGRAM As the CEO and Co-founder of ZIGRAM, Abhishek Bali has over 15 years of expertise in Anti Money Laundering (AML), Financial Crime Compliance (FCC), data assets and third-party risk. Abhishek has worked on engagements and initiatives across the world, collaborating with organizations like KPMG, BMR Advisors, Dun & Bradstreet, and Axis Bank. He leads various business initiatives and data solutions that leverage machine learning,...

As the founder of CFOAF, a financial services and business consulting firm specializing in industries ranging from construction to crypto, Byron Wolfe's greatest gift is in translating the complexities of business financial principles – with a focus on small businesses – into easily understood communication. It is a quality that has made him one of the most highly sought financial and business consultants. Byron is also the chief financial officer of an INC 5000 company, and the fractional...

After twelve years of a rewarding career in the corporate world, Karena Belin became an entrepreneur. As she put it, 'out of passion and inspiration to foster the growth of the tech and innovation ecosystem,' especially right here in Hong Kong, which she and her family now call home after two decades in the territory.   She is also a dear friend of HKU – The University of Hong Kong, where she has been a guest lecturer on the topic of 'Equity Crowdfunding' in Asia’s first MOOC, "Introduction...

Christian Hunt is the founder of Human Risk and has nearly three decades of experience in financial services, spanning investment banking, asset management, and time spent at a family office. He is also the author of the new book 'Humanizing Rules: Bringing Behavioral Science to Ethics and Compliance.' His unique perspective comes from having held senior roles as both a risk and compliance officer, as well as a regulator. While working for the Swiss banking giant UBS in London, he was a...

Hong Kong's new virtual asset regulatory regime went into effect on June 1. Much of the fanfare surrounding it stems from the notion that retail investors in the territory will soon be able to purchase cryptocurrencies and digital assets, writ large, from licensed exchanges. Clearly, the SAR is positioning itself to become a virtual asset hub, with the start of applications for licenses to run trading platforms and exchanges already underway.   Trading of cryptocurrencies in the city has been...

A veteran entrepreneur and technology lawyer with over 15 years of experience specializing in cross-border transactions, data compliance, and regulatory matters more broadly, Jamilia Grier is the founder and chief executive officer of the firm training and consulting firm ByteBao. She also hosts the Barely Legal in Web3 podcast. She chats with Regulatory Ramblings host Ajay Shamdasani on how to best conceptualize the ever-growing topic of Web3 and what it means to be a lawyer in an age of...

EXTENDED PLAY WITH GUEST: DONALD DAY   As Hong Kong implements the VATP (Virtual Asset Trading Platforms) licensing regime in June 1, 2023, find out what former SFC-Hongkong's digital assets expert and creator of the rulebook for Virtual Asset Fund Managers and Trading Platforms, Donal Day, has to say.  He also co-authored the regulatory framework, terms and conditions and guidelines for virtualassets.  Donald, chief operating officer of fintech start-up firm VDX, and the former in-house...

Donald Day, chief operating officer of fintech start-up firm VDX, and the former in-house cryptocurrency/digital asset expert at Hong Kong’s capital markets regulator, the Securities and Futures Commission, sits down to chat with Regulatory Ramblings host Ajay Shamdasani.  They discuss Donald’s time as a regulator, the importance of broadening the policy discussion beyond just being about cryptocurrencies to envisaging a future where virtual assets are a key part of daily commerce, as well...

The “Finansialization of Everything” is a term few have heard of. Yet, personalised financial technology – like cryptocurrencies and blockchain – has the power to alter how people regularly interact. Our guest, Emmanuel Daniel, highlights in his book how emerging FinTech and never-before-seen transactions are fundamentally changing the roles of institutions, markets, and the commanding heights of the world economy. His insights provide fintech players with an out-of-box perspective of how...

Central to the United Nations' definition of money laundering is the idea that wherever crime exists, there’s always dirty money. Money laundering is, therefore, the process of handling that dirty money whether from crime or egregious breaches of regulations. It's a definition that Nicholas Gilmour and Tristram Hicks, authors of the new book “The War on Dirty Money, wholeheartedly agree with. They argue that money laundering is not a victimless crime because such funds are often used to...

Regulatory Ramblings episode 17 with Aaron Kamath and Purushotham Kittane of the law firm Nishith Desai Associates. Aaron, Bangalore-based leader of the FinTech Law & Policy Practice at firm Nishith Desai Associates, and his colleague Purushotham, speak to Regulatory Ramblings host Ajay Shamdasani about the following: The evolving landscape of fintech models in India: Contributing factors and investmentsThe traditional role of payment service providers viz card networks and banks: Recent...

Kelly Ann McHugh is the Singapore-based director for MyCompliance Office for the Asia-Pacific, a provider of solutions to manage conflicts of interest. Having grown up in New Zealand, she ventured beyond its tranquil confines to explore what the rest of the region had to offer. It took her to a career at Thomson Reuters as its APAC director for APAC regulatory intelligence and compliance training – and beyond!   As someone with a strong passion for continued education – especially in the...

In this recently published Regulatory Ramblings Briefs: “New Technologies, New Crises", The University of Hong Kong’s Douglas Arner (Kerry Holdings Professor in Law) sheds light on the cyclical nature of financial crises and emphasizes the importance of understanding the interdependencies within the crypto ecosystem to gain insights into the health of companies such as Credit Suisse, Silvergate, SVB, and Signature Bank. The podcast highlights the significance of regulatory compliance, but it...

Oonagh Van Den Berg is founder of the compliance consultancy firm VRS (Virtual Risk Solutions) and RAW Compliance, a global compliance social enterprise providing free training and networking for compliance officers. ​In this episode, she joins Ajay Shamdasani  to discuss what it takes to be a compliance officer – in terms of skills, knowledge, and temperament – as well as the challenges of being a woman in male-dominated fields such as financial services, law and compliance. They also...

Ajay Shamdasani speaks to Ken Rijock, a former banking lawyer turned-career money launderer, turned-compliance officer specialising in enhanced due diligence and financial crime consulting. In this episode, they discuss the anti-money laundering (AML), know-your-customer (KYC) and politically exposed person (PEP) risks associated with citizenship and residency by investment schemes in places such as Malta, Cyprus, Nevis and St. Kitts – with strong interest emanating from places such as...

Invest In Yourself – Study Compliance & Regulation at HKU Law. Syren Johnstone, executive director of The University of Hong Kong’s LLM programme in Compliance & Regulation, talks to Ajay Shamdasani about the degree and its benefits. -       How students can take what they’ve learned to improve their career prospects -       The programme as a response to continued definition of what and who compliance in the industry involves, from the CEO to front office staff -       Fellowship...

Ajay Shamdasani speaks to Hue Dang, Global Head of New Ventures, and Senior Asia-Pacific Leader, of the Association of Certified Anti Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) on AML, and latest developments on financial crime compliance, touching briefly on how the current state of sanctions affect businesses in Asia.  In this episode, Hue Dang talks about ACAM's growth and influence in AML and financial crime compliance. Hue also shares her background and how she was drawn to a career in AML and...