In our third and last session to the Eighteenth Series of the KPMG AML Roundtable, we will once again bring you an interesting line up of speakers, ranging from the wider KPMG network to the Regulators, complementing our seasoned speakers from the KPMG Malta office. We will commence the session by seeing on what’s on the horizon for 2023 for AML/CFT professionals in the AML space. We will be seeing to updates with regard to the new EU AML Authority (“AMLA”) together with understanding its objectives, its scope and expectations. We will be delving into the impact of Fraud within the AML sphere, the EU whistleblower directive, its transposition and importance, and the recent phenomena of ESG and how it impacts AML, together with environmental crime.

After the coffee break, we will be taking you through the area of beneficial ownership. Understanding who is the ultimate beneficial owner (“UBO”) behind a corporate vehicle does not come without its challenges. Determining who qualifies as a UBO is not merely a mathematical calculation and looking at the percentage holdings of the shareholders. Obliged entities need to also take into account the element of control (including control via other means). What are the challenges that practitioners come across? The session will be interactive and will provide practical examples on determining beneficial ownership and will conclude with a panel discussion on the same with the FIAU and the Malta Business Registry.

If you have any particular questions that you would like us to consider during these sessions, please send them to kla@kpmg.com.mt and we will incorporate them in the session. We will be holding our second session to this Series at the Xara Lodge, Rabat.

We look forward to connecting with you on the 16 February 2023, which will be the last session to this series. We hope that you will join us for the next season of the KPMG AML Roundtable. The first session to our Nineteenth Series will be towards the end of June 2023.

– Alex Azzopardi (Partner, Risk Consulting Advisory Services, KPMG)
– Deborah Cassar (Associate Director, Risk Consulting Advisory Services, KPMG)
– Ariane Azzopardi (Director, Quality & Risk Management, KPMG)

Venue: The Xara Lodge (Sqaq Tac-Cawla, Triq It-Tigrija, Rabat)

Format: Sessions run from 8.30am to around 12.30pm and consist of a series of presentations by expert speakers from KPMG, the Regulator and subject persons. Based on feedback we obtained from previous sessions, we believe that attendees benefit most from interactive group discussions and thought leadership presentations.

Frequency: Once every four months.

Dates: The first Roundtable in this Eighteenth Series was held on 23 June 2022 and the second on 9 November 2022. The third session was held on 16 February 2023.

Fee: Participation fee is Eur450* per annum. The subscription is not personal and registered entities may be represented by a different delegate during each of the three sessions in any one series. Relevant KPMG publications on AML and the financial services industry will also be made available.

*KPMG Learning Academy is exempt from VAT in terms of item 12 (1) of Part Two of the Fifth Schedule to the VAT Act.

Should you wish to register for more than one individual, please use this form.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Check out the agenda for the third session held on 16 February 2023 here.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Alex Azzopardi

Alex is a Partner, Risk Consulting Advisory, KPMG in Malta and is an accountant by profession with 15 years of experience. He has managed and led various AML-related advisory engagements over the past years. The AML/CFT Advisory offering includes a full suite of services in the field: reviews of policies and procedures, testing of AML-related procedures and gap analyses. Alex leads a team of highly-specialised professionals with experience across the spectrum of subject persons and relevant activities.  Alex also provides compliance-related training sessions, including AML/CFT. He is the current Chairman of the Malta Forum for Internal Auditors.

Ariane Azzopardi

Ariane Azzopardi is a Director within the Quality and Risk Management function. She has over fifteen years’ experience in this field and is the delegate of the Risk Management Partner at KPMG in Malta. She is involved in the implementation and monitoring compliance with quality and risk management policies and procedures in KPMG in Malta also handling compliance and risk management queries, including those related to the Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (PMLFT) and ethics and independence. She delivers sessions on PMLFT at the KPMG roundtable and also at various other seminars and conferences.

Ariane is a the chair of the PMLFT sub-committee at the Malta Institute of Accountants and a committee member of the PMLFT sub-committee at the Institute of Financial Services Practitioners.

Deborah Cassar

Deborah is an Associate Director, Risk Consulting Advisory – AML Services, at KPMG Malta. Deborah has over ten years’ experience within the Financial Services sector, worked for over two years with the FIAU, and has over twelve years’ experience within the AML/CFT field. She has worked extensively in the area of AML/CFT compliance – performing Compliance reviews, as well as assisting subject persons to establish appropriate AML/CFT internal structures. She is a recognised and Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) and also completed the Advanced CAMS in Risk Management (CAMS-RM). Deborah is an active member with the Association of Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (“ACAMS”), is also a Co-Founder & Co-Chair of the ACAMS Malta Chapter.

For further details, please contact: Sarah Galea on +356 2563 1061 or kla@kpmg.com.mt.