


Friday, 11 October 2024 - Hilton Nicosia Hotel
Full Participation corresponds to up to 4 CPD units
About the Forum
2024 marks the 10th anniversary of the International Compliance Forum, the leading conference dealing with compliance matters in Cyprus. This year, the Forum aims to bring together a growing number of international experts as speakers and participants, who, together with specialists and professionals from Cyprus, will share their insights on the latest developments and will analyse the different facets and growing complexities of the all-important pillar of compliance.
Compliance is no longer a concern exclusively reserved to banks and financial institutions. As a growing number of entities across all sectors of the economy have increasing obligations and objectives with regard to due diligence, KYC, ESG and ongoing compliance, the Forum delves into all aspects of compliance, bringing unique expertise to the table for what promises to be an exciting and interactive discussion packed with new information and interesting insights.
Speakers

Marios Skandalis is a senior financial sector executive with extensive experience both in the local as well as international markets and today is the Chief Compliance Officer of the Bank of Cyprus Group. He is a Fellow member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (UK), a licensed member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (USA) and a Fellow member of the Chartered Governance Institute – ICSA (UK). He is also a Fellow member of the International Compliance Association (UK) and a professional member of the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (USA). Mr. Skandalis is the President of the Cyprus Integrity Forum (CIF), the largest non-governmental organization in Cyprus for combatting corruption and promoting transparency, as well as the founder member and Honorary President of the Cyprus Compliance Association (CCA). He is also a Board member of the Global Practitioner Advisory Board of the International Compliance Association (ICA – UK), as well as the former Vice-President of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (Cyprus).Mr. Skandalis is the past President of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC) and the former Executive Vice-President and founder member of Transparency International (Cyprus). He is an active anti-fraud/corruption, compliance and corporate governance professional and chairs or participates as keynote speaker to related international conferences/forums in Europe, Asia and the USA. Mr Skandalis is the winner of the 2016 Banker of the Year Award – Cyprus by the AI Magazine in the United Kingdom. He is also the winner of the 2017 American Academy Nicosia Alumni Achievement Award in recognition of his remarkable success and achievements in his chosen career of compliance, corporate governance and anti-financial crime. Finally, he is the international silver award winner of “Best Compliance Team”, by the International Compliance Association (UK) for 2022.

Iris Pilika works as a Senior Compliance Officer at the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). As part of OFAC’s Sanctions Compliance Division, she is responsible for implementing U.S. economic sanctions through outreach to and engagement with public and private sector partners. Iris regularly advises and educates on a variety of matters relating to compliance with U.S. economic sanctions programs. Previously, she served as a Sanctions Policy Advisor in OFAC’s Policy Division. Iris has extensive experience working on national security, illicit finance, and anti-corruption in the United States government, private sector, and international organizations.

Marshall S. Billingslea is a senior fellow at Hudson Institute, focusing on illicit finance and arms control with the Kleptocracy Initiative. Prior to joining Hudson Institute, Mr. Billingslea was the special presidential envoy for arms control at the US Department of State, holding the rank of ambassador. In this capacity, he led arms control negotiations and worked with partners and allies in Europe and Asia on the development and deployment of defensive capabilities. Before joining the State Department, Mr. Billingslea served as the assistant secretary for terrorist financing at the US Department of the Treasury, where he built international coalitions and led US efforts to counter illicit financial activities around the globe. In 2018, he was selected as president of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)—the global anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing body—and co-chaired the global Counter-ISIS Finance Group and multiple bilateral negotiating fora with friendly and allied nations. Earlier in his career, he served for more than six years as the senior professional staff member for national security affairs on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Before rejoining the US government in 2017, Mr. Billingslea spent more than eight years in the private sector. Between 2001 and 2009, he served in several senior roles within the Department of Defense and at NATO, including as deputy undersecretary of the Navy and assistant secretary general for defense investment at NATO. Mr. Billingslea holds a BA from Dartmouth College and an MA in law and diplomacy from Tufts University. He has been awarded the Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service by the US Secretary of Defense and decorated by the US secretary of the navy with the Distinguished Public Service medal, and received the Treasury Medal in recognition of his work at the Department of the Treasury.

Helen Dixon was appointed to take up the role of Commissioner at the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) in February 2024. Helen was previously Commissioner for Data Protection in Ireland, having served two five-year terms from September 2014. Responsible for upholding the rights of individuals regarding how data about them is used, the role, among other things, required regulation of a large number of US internet multi-nationals with European bases in Ireland. Previously Irish Registrar of Companies where she led regulatory enforcement of compliance with the filing provisions of the Companies Acts, Helen has also held senior roles in the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation working on economic migration policy, science, technology and innovation policy. She spent the first ten years of her career in the IT industry. She holds postgraduate qualifications in European Economic and Public Affairs, Governance, Computer Science, Official Statistics for Policy Evaluation, and Judicial Skills and Decision Making. She has additionally attained a Diploma in Corporate Governance and was delighted to have been awarded an honorary fellowship of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA) in 2014.

Vicky Christophidou is a Fellow Chartered Accountant, member of the ICPAC and CAMS member. She joined ECOMMBX as the Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer on April 1st, 2021 after being with PwC Cyprus for a total of 15 years. During her career, Vicky serviced a wide range of financial services clients including credit institutions, EMIs and investment firms, offering advisory services in the areas of risk management, regulatory compliance, governance and internal controls.

Alun Milford is a partner in the Criminal Litigation team and specialises in serious or complex financial crime,
proceeds of crime litigation and corporate investigations. He has particular knowledge and experience of issues
surrounding cross-border criminal investigations, corporate crime and deferred prosecution agreements. Alun
advises companies and individuals on the full range of white-collar and business crime-related issues, including
sanctions, fraud, bribery, money laundering, confiscation and civil recovery (including account freezing orders).

Gerson Raiser advises national and international companies on all areas of white-collar crime and compliance. His
work includes, in particular, conducting internal investigations, advising and defending companies in connection
with criminal and administrative fine proceedings and providing advice to companies on compliance measures
to avoid penalty risks. One focus of his work is advising on EU financial and economic sanctions. He also focuses
on advising companies on anti-money laundering and anti-bribery and corruption issues. He regularly provides
trainings and workshops on compliance-related topics, including concerning economic and trade sanctions, and
he is lecturer at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management.

Luis Parra is Director, Head of RegTech solutions at Complyport, part of ComplyMAP Group. He is focused on simplifying clients’ abilities to meet their regulatory obligations through the use of technology. He is responsible for the day-to-day management of several RegTech solutions, including ViCA, ComplyPortal, and MAP FinTech (UK). In his role, Luis oversees the delivery of compliance management software, virtual compliance assistance via chat, transaction reporting, and transaction monitoring solutions to clients. These provide easier access to knowledge and improved workflow management, ensuring on time reporting, compliance processes and frameworks are streamlined, easy to manage and secure. Luis previously worked for a Fortune Global 500 company delivering document management solutions for legal and compliance needs. His work focused on creating efficiency, increasing insight to information locked in unstructured data sources such as contracts and other records. His experience with change management has helped him lead efforts to establish and implement best practices within legal and compliance service areas, enabling clients to adopt technology into their current processes. Luis has facilitated clients to employ advanced technology tools including cognitive learning, advanced analytics and automation tools. This has helped clients manage through mountains of data for a variety of tasks, such as: research, investigation, compliance, data and document management efforts.Luis holds a B.A. in Business Administration from Loyola Marymount University and attended the MBA program at Pepperdine Graziadio Business School in Los Angeles.

Alessio Marchetti, is an investigations and regulatory compliance lawyer, focusing on regulatory work for leading financial institutions and global investigations in a broad range of sectors. He advises FCA authorised and other financial institutions on UK and European regulatory issues in a range of advisory, transactional and contentious matters; and advises clients in the design and implementation of their regulatory compliance programmes, including training staff. In investigations, Alessio conducts complex and sensitive investigations, often in a multi-lingual and multi-jurisdictional context, for a number of multinational clients, as well as in relation to public inquiries.

Andrea Moundi Savvides is the Global Director of Risk and Compliance. She is a qualified lawyer and has extensive experience in the field of financial services, AML, and sanctions, and regularly works with our Tax and Regulatory team. Andrea also advises on competition law matters, at both local and European level including advising on issues which require notification to the relevant authorities. Prior to joining us in 2018, Andrea was a senior corporate lawyer in the legal and compliance team of an authorised investment firm where she liaised with regulators in multiple jurisdictions. She also gained experience in financial services law and regulation including MiFID II and other regulatory regimes such as the automatic exchange of information. She regularly advises clients on a range of regulatory issues which include white collar crimes, sanctions, and anti-money laundering cases. She also practised as an advocate advising on various contentious and non-contentious matters. Andrea holds several professional certifications, including the CySEC Advanced, the CySEC AML, and the ICA International Diploma in Anti-Money Laundering. She is Chair of the Cyprus Compliance Association, a body dedicated to advancing the professional growth of governance, risk, and compliance professionals in Cyprus. She is also a member of the Cyprus Bar Association’s Anti-Corruption Committee and Committee for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing activities and breaches of sanctions.

Gregory Dellas is the Chief Compliance and Innovation Officer at ECOMMBX. Previously, at the Bank of Cyprus, Gregory served as Director Wealth & Markets and spearheaded the AML Risk Management team within International Banking Services, responsible for high-risk clients and transactions and for providing guidance and specialized training to management and staff. Before that he was Group MLRO for a large Cyprus bank, and held a number of other senior management positions. Gregory is the founder and Chair of the ACAMS Cyprus Chapter, since 2015. He holds several international professional certifications including CGSS, CAMS (Advanced) - Risk and CAMS (Advanced) – Audit. He is a certified CAMS instructor and GCI accredited trainer, a Fellow of ICA (FICA) and a long-standing member of the AMLP Forum and IGCA. He also holds an MBA from Lancaster University in the UK and a BSC (Hons) industrial economics from the University of Warwick.

Peter van Veen is the Director of Corporate Governance & Stewardship at the ICAEW and sits on the Board of Transparency International. Prior to joining the ICAEW, Peter was the Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer for several multinational enterprises, including Dentsu International. Peter was a member of the leadership team at Transparency International UK (TI-UK) where set up the Business Integrity Programme. In this role he also served on the advisory board of AIM Progress the global ethical supply chain initiative.Earlier in his career Peter was a strategy consultant with Andersen Consulting and Stanford Research Institute and an CEO and CXO for a number of businesses in research, retail and tech focussing on restructuring and new market entry. Peter is an expert on good governance, responsible business practices, business ethics, corporate culture, risk & resilience, supply chain due diligence, ESG, stewardship and good board practice. He is responsible for a thought leadership series called the “New Boardroom Agenda”.

Eleni Neocleous is a Board Member in Risk and Regulatory, Risk Consulting at KPMG in Cyprus. She delivers regular advice and solutions to clients on corporate governance and compliance with regulatory requirements and on prudential regulation topics. Eleni led several high-profile engagements in Cyprus and overseas where she helped regulators and banking clients to respond to the challenges that arose after the financial crisis and to implement complex regulatory change. She started her career in KPMG in the UK where she specialized in financial services regulation. Her work included secondments to global financial institutions and the Financial Services Authority

Symeon Stylianou is a Data Transformation & Quality Advisor at Infocredit Group, where he also oversees multiple innovative products, including echeck360, ESGsuite, and API4ALL. With a strong foundation in data transformation and quality, Symeon excels in implementing comprehensive ETL processes, ensuring data integrity, and developing data strategies that enhance accessibility and utility. His work at Infocredit Group is pivotal in driving the company’s mission to provide top-tier business intelligence and risk management solutions. Symeon is also the Chief Business Officer at Ablebook Ltd, a groundbreaking start-up dedicated to enhancing accessibility for people with disabilities in Cyprus. His leadership in developing the Ablebook mobile application, which provides critical information on accessible locations, has been recognized with numerous accolades, including the ‘Social Innovation 2023 Award’ from the Organization of Employers and Industrial Enterprises. With an MSc in Business Analytics from Aston University and a BSc in Business Administration from the University of Macedonia, Symeon combines academic rigor with practical experience to drive operational efficiency and innovative business solutions. His expertise spans data analytics, operational improvements, and social innovation. In his role, Symeon has been instrumental in implementing sustainable business practices within Infocredit Group, contributing to a broader industry shift towards sustainability. Additionally, he has extensive experience in creating and implementing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting frameworks, ensuring compliance with relevant regulations.