Webinar: TRM Talks: Hot topics in crypto compliance by TRM Labs

A conversation with compliance experts from FTX.US, Bates Group, Clifford Chance and TRM Labs.

About This Webinar

As global policy makers continue to build legal and regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrency, compliance professionals at cryptocurrency businesses and financial institutions are working to ensure that they are building robust policies and procedures to mitigate the risks of fraud and financial crime.

In this TRM Talk, we’ll look at today's key issues and challenges for compliance teams in the digital asset space, including:

- Key differences between traditional (fiat) currencies versus cryptocurrencies when it comes to AML policies and procedures
- How to assess sanctions exposure — direct and indirect — in an increasingly complex geopolitical time
- How to manage risk for areas in which there is no regulatory guidance, including engaging with DeFi platforms and liquidity pools

On June 23, we’ll delve into these and other questions with an all-star crypto compliance panel, including Alfarida Mohammed , Senior Vice President of Compliance at FTX.US, Brandi Reynolds, Managing Director of the Bates Group, Jamal El-Hindi, Counsel at Clifford Chance and former Deputy Director of FinCEN, and Thomas Armstrong, Compliance Advisory at TRM and former Head of Financial Crime Compliance Digital Assets at Goldman Sachs.

Jamal El-Hindi

Counsel at Clifford Chance

Jamal El-Hindi joined Clifford Chance’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice in Washington, D.C., after a distinguished public sector career as an executive at the U.S. Department of the Treasury where he was a leading anti-money laundering regulator. He served as the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Deputy Director, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Associate Director for Program Policy and Implementation. Immediately prior to joining the firm, he was Treasury’s inaugural Chief Data Officer, with responsibility for enhancing management and use of all Treasury data.

At FinCEN, Jamal led the operational, policy, and strategic planning aspects of the bureau as well as rulemaking, guidance and interpretation efforts, enforcement, regulatory analysis, and industry outreach. Jamal oversaw FinCEN engagements with regulators and other agencies across the US government and with foreign counterparts. He also has demonstrated experience with respect to new payment methods, including prepaid access and virtual currency.

Alfarida Mohammed

Senior Vice President of Compliance at FTX.US

Alfarida is a Senior Vice President of Compliance at FTX.US focusing primarily on leading the cryptocurrency exchanges compliance program in the US. Prior to joining FTX.US, Alfarida worked at UBS in Compliance in Chicago, London and New York, most recently in the Asset management division. Alfarida has an undergraduate degree in Politics from Goldsmiths, University of London and graduated from BPP Law School, London in 2010.

Alfarida is passionate about creating true Equity and Inclusion in society and as such serves on the Greenwood Project Board, an organization that benefits diverse, underserved students as well as partner firms’ efforts towards enhanced Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives.

Brandi Reynolds

Managing Director of AML & Compliance at Bates Group

Brandi B. Reynolds is Managing Director of AML & Compliance at Bates Group. She has more than 18 years of experience in the financial services industry supporting companies in the areas of Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Money Services Businesses (MSBs), and Consumer Protection Compliance. Ms. Reynolds was President and Chief Executive Officer of CorCom, LLC (now part of Bates Group), a consulting firm specializing in federal compliance and risk management offering services in BSA/AML/OFAC Program Development, Risk Management, Training, and Independent Reviews and specializing in areas such as AML, MSBs, Financial Crimes Prevention, and Consumer Lending.

Prior to CorCom, she was an in-house Deputy Chief Compliance Officer for 11 years. Ms. Reynolds recently partnered with the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) to re-develop their advanced certification course, CAMS-Audit and is a frequent speaker at the International Money Transmitter Conferences (IMTC) and events.

Tom Armstrong

Compliance Advisor at TRM Labs

Prior to joining TRM Labs, Tom served as the Head of Financial Crime Compliance Digital Assets at Goldman Sachs. In this capacity, he led the strategic efforts to build the bank’s first dedicated financial crime compliance team covering blockchain-based assets, and served in an advisory capacity across a number of business verticals including investment banking, private wealth, asset management, global markets and additional digital asset projects.

With a decade of experience working on anti-money laundering and related compliance issues at Goldman Sachs, he also led Transaction Surveillance teams, and served as Head of the Financial
Intelligence Unit and Forensics Group teams.

Ari Redbord (moderator)

Head of Legal and Government Affairs, TRM Labs

Ari Redbord is Head of Legal and Government Affairs at TRM Labs, a blockchain analytics company. Prior to joining TRM Labs, he served as a Senior Advisor to the Deputy Secretary and the Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the United States Department of Treasury. In this capacity, he worked with teams from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and other Treasury and interagency components on issues related to sanctions, the Bank Secrecy Act, cryptocurrency, and anti-money laundering strategies.

Previously, Mr. Redbord served as a Senior Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, where he investigated and prosecuted cases related to cryptocurrency, terrorist financing, sanctions evasion, export control, child exploitation and human trafficking. He has received numerous awards from FinCEN, the FBI, and the United States Attorney's Office, including the Attorney General's Award for leading an interagency task force dedicated to prosecuting those who abuse and exploit children.