ACi Symposium 25 Speakers

Simon Scales, Chief Education & Training Officer, ACi

Simon’s extensive international experience in corporate investigations includes significant Employee Misconduct, Fraud, Bribery, Corruption, Antitrust & Competition, AML, Sanctions, Market Abuse and commensurate preventative/remedial measures. His 30 years of expertise in major investigation management, covert and overt intelligence gathering, relationship and stakeholder management, Ethics / Compliance / Integrity related investigations and reviews demonstrate his proven ability to facilitate consensus through negotiation and collaborate with senior management across all geographies. 

Neill Blundell, Partner, White & Case

Neill is a partner at White & Case and head of the London white collar team. He is a specialist white collar and regulatory defence lawyer who advises both individuals and corporates on compliance, pre-investigations, investigations and prosecutions conducted by UK agencies such as the FCA, SFO, CMA, HMRC, NCA, and the CPS. He also assists in multi-jurisdictional investigations involving agencies such as the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the FIOD (Netherlands), the US Department of Justice, the US Securities & Exchange Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Steve Young, Chief Executive Officer, ACi

Steve served 20 years in UK law enforcement investigating economic crime specialising in the pro-active investigation of Banking Fraud, Bribery & Corruption, Whistleblowing and Money Laundering. This was followed by 6 years at Citigroup Inc. as EMEA Regional Director of Investigations, and 8 years as Barclays Bank Plc, Global Head of Investigations for Investment Banking & Wealth Management. Currently Head of Fraud & Investigations in Group Compliance at Lombard Odier, based in Geneva. To date, 40 years of international economic crime experience in both a law enforcement and corporate environment.

Ash Sharma, Chief Strategy Officer, ACi

Ash Sharma has over 20 years’ experience in investigations and financial crime risk mitigation. Ash presently manages one of two global investigation hubs for Anglo American Plc, a global mining, minerals and extraction company.  His team conduct corporate ethics and compliance (including regulatory and financial crime) investigations. Ash has worked in the UK and Asia in regional and group roles for a global bank. There, he headed up an internal fraud risk, background vetting and investigation function, before leading and coordinating global significant investigations for the group.  Ash is a Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Financial Crime Specialist, and Certified Cryptocurrency Investigator.

Adam Garside, Director, Control Risks

Adam Garside is a forensic accountant and Director in Control Risks’ forensics practice in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Based in London, Adam has nearly 20 years of experience leading investigations into accounting irregularities, fraud, bribery and corruption and helping clients set-up, monitor and enhance their compliance programmes.

Neil Blundell, White & Case LLP

Neill is a partner at White & Case and head of the London white collar team. He is a specialist white collar and regulatory defence lawyer who advises both individuals and corporates on compliance, pre-investigations, investigations and prosecutions conducted by UK agencies such as the FCA, SFO, CMA, HMRC, NCA, and the CPS. He also assists in multi-jurisdictional investigations involving agencies such as the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the FIOD (Netherlands), the US Department of Justice, the US Securities & Exchange Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Neill is also an expert on sanctions law and advises corporates and individuals on UK, EU and US sanctions.

He is also an expert on building anti-fraud, AML, anti-bribery and Criminal Finance Act compliance programmes and in providing the training for clients in anti-fraud and culture awareness.

Neill is a qualified solicitor-advocate.

Tom Stocks, Senior Investigative Journalist, OCCRP

Based in the U.K., Tom Stocks joined OCCRP in 2020 and reports on illicit finance and corruption. He has contributed to major investigations of banks and corporate service providers, including Cyprus Confidential, Suisse Secrets, and the Pandora Papers. His reporting also featured in the European Press Prize-winning Russian Asset Tracker. He also provides research and training support to OCCRP’s network of journalists and partner organizations. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Russian and Philosophy from the University of Bristol.

Selma Mhaoud, Editor, OCCRP

Selma joined OCCRP in 2023 as a Middle East and North Africa (MENA) editor. She has worked on multiple investigations, mostly focusing on Syria, Yemen, and the UAE, including Dominica: Passports of the Caribbean and Dubai Unlocked. She also trains OCCRP’s MENA journalists and reporters from partner media. She holds a master’s degree in Middle East and Mediterranean studies from King’s College London.

Livia Gurgel, Head of LATAM

Livia started her career within Internal Audit and Risk management. She has more than 15 years’ experience performing and leading corporate investigations in the mining and industry sector, especially in large Capital Projects. Her experience covers a variety of conduct and ethics breaches related to financial crime, regulation and compliance, unfair labor practices, sexual harassment and fraud. Livia has a degree in Marketing, post-graduation on International Financial Reporting Standards and Corporate Governance. She is now leading the South America Investigations function for a large Group in the mining, diamonds and minerals sector. Livia is Certified Fraud Examiner and holds an Executive MBA by Fundação Dom Cabral.

James Grant, KLDiscovery

James Grant is an experienced professional in legal technology and eDiscovery, with a career grounded in law firm practice and a deep understanding of legal workflows. He specialises in helping clients navigate complex data challenges across litigation, regulatory investigations, DSARs, and public inquiries. James brings a strategic lens to embedding technology within legal and investigative processes, enabling teams to streamline workflows, uncover insights faster, and drive operational efficiencies. His experience spans advising on high stakes matters where data volumes, regulatory scrutiny, and timelines demand innovative and defensible solutions.

Michael Zimmern, Head of Investigations, Diageo

Michael is Head of Investigations for Diageo, a leading international drinks company. Prior to joining Diageo, Michael was a Partner and EMEA Forensics lead for a global consulting firm, providing investigations and compliance support to in-house teams. Michael has over 20 years’ experience as a forensic accountant, investigating a wide variety of financial crime and other business conduct matters, with a focus on international engagements and work in emerging markets.

John Gibson, Partner, Michelman Robinson LLP

John Gibson advises multinational organisations on complex investigations, economic crime and regulatory enforcement, with particular focus on cross-border matters involving financial misconduct and reputational risk. He defends high-profile individuals and corporates charged with serious economic crime and related offences. His matters routinely begin as front-age financial news, requiring a deft and comprehensive strategy to limit reputational harm, demonstrate a robust response, and shape the narrative

Cheryl O’Shea, Head of APAC

Cheryl O’Shea has over 20 years of experience in investigation and risk management and specializes in fraud and investigations within the IT industry. Her extensive investigation experience extends to conducting investigations involving fraud, corruption, money laundering, financial misconduct, non-compliance, and violation of company policies. She leads a corporate investigation team in a multinational IT company covering Asia Pacific to conduct investigations in challenging situations and work with legal counsel in multi-jurisdictions. Cheryl holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the UK and a Master’s degree in Finance from Ireland. She is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE).

Paul Gordon, Manager, Sales Engineering, Relativity 

Paul has been in the legal technology field for over 20 years.  He has been with Relativity for over 10 years and currently leads Relativity’s Sales Engineering team across EMEA. With both sales and operations experience, Paul has supported diverse projects, covering computer forensics through document review and productions at both software and service provider organisations.  He is also one of Relativity’s regional leads for Generative AI products. Paul is based in London and serves the international Relativity user community.

Jonny Davies, Investigations Senior Manager, Microsoft

Jonny is an investigator in Microsoft’s Business Conduct Investigations team for the EMEA region, based in the UK. After starting his career in various audit and technology risk roles at PwC, Jonny has spent over ten years in investigations, from public practice to his current, in-house role at Microsoft. Across these different roles, Jonny has investigated several high-profile cases involving bribery and corruption risks, fraud and allegations of misconduct in public office. Jonny also has a keen interest in emerging technologies and is a member of Microsoft’s global working group exploring the use of AI in investigations. Jonny is a Certified Fraud Examiner and a Chartered Accountant with the ICAEW.

Sara Lawson KC, Business Crime, Serious Fraud & Regulatory Compliance Specialist

Sara Lawson KC is a distinguished barrister with extensive experience in corporate crime, regulatory compliance, and serious fraud. As the former General Counsel to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), she has overseen some of the most significant investigations and prosecutions involving major corporations and international enforcement agencies. Her expertise includes Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs), corporate governance, and cross-border legal co-operation. Sara has an enormous depth of experience advising in relation to corporate investigations related to fraud, insolvency, and money laundering.

Brad McGrath, Global Head of Compliance Conduct & Ethics for Shell Trading and Supply

Brad is the Global Head of Compliance Conduct & Ethics for Shell Trading and Supply, now based in London having worked in the U.S and Singapore.Brad has a background in Conduct Risk, Regulatory Enforcement and Intelligence/Investigations from U.K. law enforcement and the financial regulator (FCA – CoLP) Brad specialises in Whistleblowing and Compliance Incident management.

Jonah Anderson, Partner, White & Case

Jonah Anderson is a Chambers ranked financial crime and investigations specialist. He covers internal investigations, law enforcement investigations, compliance and transactional matters. In the financial crime space, Jonah focuses on bribery and corruption, money laundering, terrorist financing, fraud, tax evasion, and financial services issues. He frequently works on sanctions matters with the White & Case specialist sanctions team. He has conducted numerous internal investigations for companies involving highly sensitive matters. These investigations have covered a broad range of allegations of financial crime and workplace misconduct.

Oliver Little, Detective Superintendent, City of London Police

Detective Superintendent Oliver Little has been working in key policing leadership roles in economic crime for 15 years with experience across Cyber and Fraud operations, including industry funded units. Prior to his current post he was on secondment to the National Economic Crime Centre where he lead a series of national multi-agency intensifications targeting fraud and money laundering. In his current role he leads the coordination of the policing response across forces and regions and is a board member of the London and South East Fraud Forum.

Anne Medlycott, JP Morgan Chase

Anne Medlycott started her career with the City of London Police in 2003. She specialised as a detective and held several positions in Criminal Investigations, Public Protection and Economic Crime. She was promoted to detective sergeant in 2008 and again to Detective inspector in 2018. She has been involved in several high-profile investigations including murders, child abuse and serious sexual offences.Most recently she ran the Serious Organised Crime Team with an embedded NCA contingent, working predominantly on the distribution of drugs and money laundering which had a national and international remit. In February this year, Anne left policing behind to take up a position as Head of EMEA Investigations for JPMorgan Chase. They work with other key functions like Compliance, Legal and Employee Relations to ensure coverage across the region. This function sits independently from all lines of business to ensure fair investigations across the business

Ángel Corbacho Muro, Head of Iberia, ACi

Ángel Corbacho Muro is Head of Spain & Portugal, for ACi. Ángel is a Senior Legal Counsel and investigations specialist, currently leading compliance functions for Cloudflare in EMEA. With over a decade of international experience, Ángel has managed regional and global compliance programs, complex internal investigations, and innovative training initiatives, supporting major organizations in the tech and FMCG sectors. Admitted to the Madrid Bar, he is a PhD candidate in Economics and Business Management, and actively lectures on European Law and Intellectual Property.

Elizabeth Robertson, Partner, Robertson Pugh

A distinguished lawyer – with a formidable reputation in multi-jurisdictional business crime and regulatory matters – Elizabeth has successfully defended clients in enforcement actions, responded to coordinated dawn raids and provided compliance advice across a number of sectors including financial services, media, fintech, mining, sports and retail. Thanks to her profound understanding of the priorities of UK and international prosecuting authorities, Elizabeth is frequently sought after for governance and compliance matters by both international and UK companies, and excels in advising on corruption, money laundering, economic sanctions and criminal tax cases.

Ranked among the top tier in Chambers UK, Elizabeth has been inducted into The Legal 500 Hall of Fame for Fraud: White-Collar Crime – and recognised as a Leading Individual in Regulatory Investigations and Corporate Crime.

Chris Sherwood, M and G

Chris Sherwood, Confidential Investigations Manager, Financial Crime Compliance, M&G plc

A distinguished lawyer – with a formidable reputation in multi-jurisdictional business crime and regulatory matters – Elizabeth has successfully defended clients in enforcement actions, responded to coordinated dawn raids and provided compliance advice across a number of sectors including financial services, media, fintech, mining, sports and retail. Thanks to her profound understanding of the priorities of UK and international prosecuting authorities, Elizabeth is frequently sought after for governance and compliance matters by both international and UK companies, and excels in advising on corruption, money laundering, economic sanctions and criminal tax cases. Ranked among the top tier in Chambers UK, Elizabeth has been inducted into The Legal 500 Hall of Fame for Fraud: White-Collar Crime – and recognised as a Leading Individual in Regulatory Investigations and Corporate Crime.

Clara Gehner, Associate, Schellenberg Wittmer

Clara Gehner is an Associate in Schellenberg Wittmer’s Geneva office. Clara specializes in complex internal and government-led investigations, regulatory and compliance matters as well as white-collar crime proceedings. As Innovation Specialist, Clara is responsible for the development of the firm’s legal technology tools, to better serve our clients in complex fact-finding missions.

Patrick Wellens, Chief Compliance Officer

Patrick has over 20 years’ professional experience in leading complex and sensitive global fraud, corruption and financial crime investigations across diverse sectors from luxury brands to healthcare to NGOs and is experienced working with law firms, prosecutors and compliance monitors. He also has an impressive track record of establishing risk, compliance, and Internal Audit governance, processes, systems and standards. Patrick is currently working as a Compliance Manager for a healthcare and agriculture company where he is a business partner for all global functions of consumer health division and EMEA Crop Science management functions. Patrick is also a Board Member of Ethics and Compliance Switzerland and member of the editorial board of Society for Corporate Compliance & Ethics.

Georgia Franks, Manager, Kroll

Georgia is a Manager in the Investigations, Diligence, and Compliance (IDC) team in Kroll’s London office. Georgia has led a range of business intelligence assignments and investigations, with a focus on complex multi-jurisdictional illicit trade projects in Europe, Asia, and Africa. She is a senior practitioner in the team currently responsible for a large-scale illicit trade investigation into the smuggling and sales of illegal F-gas products throughout the European Union (EU). She leads the London-based research team and works closely with law enforcement partners, regularly liaising with them to share information and disrupt the illegal sale of the product in the EU.

Claire Williams, Head of Investigations and Intelligence, Imperial Brands 

Claire Williams brings over 20 years of law enforcement experience from the National Crime Agency (NCA) to her role as Head of Investigations & Intelligence at Imperial Brands. During her tenure at the NCA, she led operational investigations targeting Organised Crime Groups and most recently served as the International Liaison Officer for the Middle East, based in Dubai.

At Imperial Brands, Claire is responsible for leading internal investigations and driving anti-illicit trade initiatives, leveraging her extensive expertise in intelligence and complex investigations to protect the business and its stakeholders.

Fred Ellis, TRAFFIC

Fred Ellis is the Regional Analyst for the Wildlife Conservation Society in the Republic of Congo and former money laundering analyst and financial investigator at the City of London Police. Fred is interested in promoting the use of parallel financial investigations in a bid to impact the profits made through the illegal wildlife trade.

Basha Galvin, Chief Operating Officer

Basha started her career with the Metropolitan Police and moved to the City of London Police Fraud Unit, covering money laundering, trade finance fraud, bribery and corruption. Basha left the police and moved to Citigroup for four years, moving to Barclays plc in 2006 as Head of Investigations & Whistleblowing for Wealth & Investment Bank. In 2018, Basha moved to the Oil & Gas Industry as Head of Investigations for Tullow Oil Plc leaving in late 2020. In early 2021 Basha moved to Lloyds Banking Group managing Conduct Investigations and in November 2022 commenced a role as Senior Investigations Manager at British American Tobacco. Basha is a seasoned financial crime investigator in the public and corporate sector. She has led and managed global investigations teams, provided investigations training and built case management systems. During her career, Basha has had the opportunity to work in a number of jurisdictions including the USA, APAC and EMEA developing investigation models and collating evidence for civil and criminal prosecutions. Basha was named as one of the “Top 40 in-house” investigation professionals by Global Investigations Review.

Joshua Liam Gallogly-Clements, Manager, Enhanced Due Diligence and Investigations, Neotas

Josh is an experienced investigations and due diligence specialist with over six years experience leading complex intelligence and OSINT projects across high-risk jurisdictions. At Neotas, he manages enhanced due diligence and open-source investigations for global banks, law firms, sports organisations, and law enforcement. His work focuses on leveraging social media and digital footprints to identify risks, uncover insights, and support compliance and risk management strategies.

Michael Harris, Financial Crime Risk Solutions Consultant, Neotas, FCC Consultants

Michael has worked in financial crime risk management for over 18 years working with several global organisations such as Thomson Reuters and LexisNexis and since 2020 working as an independent consultant at FCC Consulting. As an anti-financial crime expert, he brings his knowledge and experience of KYC/AML,ABC and ESG compliance processes to both financial and professional services organisations and the wider corporate world. He writes and trains on a range of topics related to Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Anti-bribery and Corruption (ABC) and ESG compliance covering current regulatory themes, global risk events and trends in technology and data. He is author of online training courses in Financial Crime Compliance in Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Bribery and Corruption and the Regulations and Laws that underpin them. Also Understanding ESG and ESG Compliance. With a career spanning four decades in international business, Michael offers unique insights into the changing geo-political risk landscape, the evolution of financial crime regulation, the genesis and development of AML and ABC regulation and how data and technology can empower organisations in today’s competitive environment. Michael is also a regular writer, speaker and contributor on financial crime topics in the media.

Mary Jones, World Trade Organisation

Mary Jones heads the Office of Internal Oversight (OIO) at the World Trade Organization, where she is responsible for the investigation, audit, evaluation, and inspection functions. She has over 25 years’ practitioner and leadership experience in oversight functions across the public, private, charitable, humanitarian, and multilateral organisation sectors. She started her career in first responder roles, followed by criminology research focusing on crime reduction, social inclusion, ethical compliance and evaluation for government agencies, police forces, and non-profits. She then worked in trailblazing roles in Anti-Fraud and Corruption in an International NGO and went on to set up and lead the Investigations and Speak Up functions at the world’s largest university publisher. She is a certified fraud examiner, accredited intelligence and strategic assessment specialist, and senior qualified investigative interviewer. Mary is also the former Executive Director of the Association of Corporate Investigators where she led foundational initiatives to professionalise corporate investigations. She is currently Deputy-Chair of the United Nations Representatives of Investigative Services (UN-RIS) and is active in PSEAH and other oversight communities of practice and working groups.

James Mason

War Stories – From a Social Engineer.  

James has social engineered and physically breached some of the world’s largest and sensitive organisations, for well over a decade. A passionate advocate of Attack Simulation exercising to rapidly increase increase enterprise resilience, while reducing major and critical risk. This talk includes real-world findings and lessons learned, the fears and the positives of exercising, critical safety risks (as well as security) and how I’ve tricked my way into some of the world’s largest and sensitive environments.