More than 400 delegates and 35 regional and international speakers are taking part in the upcoming 8th annual Compliance and Anti-Money Laundering Seminar hosted by Thomson Reuters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The event takes place on May 9 and 10 at Al Faisaliah Hotel.

The seminar will be held in partnership with the Institute of Finance of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the patronage of Abdulaziz Al-Furaih, vice governor of Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA).

Dr Fahad Aldossari, director general, The Institute of Finance, said: “We are pleased to host the 8th Compliance & Anti Money Laundering Seminar in collaboration with Thomson Reuters. We realize the importance of upholding sound compliance, responsible leadership and anti-financial crime regulations, as well as growing ethical businesses. This year, the seminar will extend the dialogue to the corporate and capital market segments, as well as professionals, in addition to financial institutions.”

“The seminar continues to serve as a unique platform for connecting the regulatory, governance, risk and compliance community with their regional and international counterparts, to exchange views, discuss common challenges and share best practices,” he added.

Nadim Najjar, managing director, Mena, Thomson Reuters, said: “Whilst the last 10 years have seen a significant regulatory activity challenging financial institutions, it has also seen a leap forward in terms of international and regional regulators coming together and co-operating with each other in order to weather a global recession, mitigate risks, and try to ensure that mistakes of the past are not relived.”

“We have seen the financial markets put under immense scrutiny by their own regulators, and simply put, regulators have let fines do the talking. The sheer size and threat of some of these enforcement actions, and the volume of regulatory change that comes from regional and international regulators, means that whilst 10 years ago compliance was a very small part of a banks back office, today it is a vital and growing part of business operations,” he added.

“As the financial sector continues to internationalize, it is important for companies and regulators in the Kingdom to discuss the full scope of the legal requirements that could impact a regulated firm and the conduct of its business,” Najjar concluded.

The seminar is supported by leading banks and financial institutions including Banque Saudi Fransi, Samba, Saudi British Bank, Al Ahli , Saudi Hollandi Bank and ICSA. – TradeArabia News Service