The Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS), announces the appointment of Samantha Sheen as its Director of AML for Europe. Highly regarded as a commercially astute international financial regulatory, crime and risk management expert, Samantha Sheen has developed a strong reputation for excellence at interpreting and applying regulatory strategies, developing robust organisational and procedural policy architecture and implementing global sanctions compliance.
During her ten year executive level AML career, Samantha Sheen has led multiple organisations, including financial institutions and regulators, through strict international investigations, and risk assessments, and successfully engineered a culture of engagement to bolster reputation, encourage accountability and promote pragmatism. Prior to joining ACAMS, Samantha Sheen was Managing Director and Group Head of AML at Unicredit Bank, responsible for establishing global AML / CFT standards and driving their implementation in North America, CEE and Europe.
As Group Head of AML at insurance provider Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A, Samantha Sheen implemented an AML global remediation project spanning Asia, South America and Europe and led the development of global standards on the use of automated sanctions screening tools. Prior to this role, as the inaugural director of the Financial Crime Division for the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, Ms Sheen oversaw over 50 investigations and implemented an independent financial risk assessment process. At Butterfield Fulcrum as MLRO, Data Protection Officer and General Counsel she undertook a comprehensive AML/CFT compliance programme review and its redesign. A well known sanctions compliance expert, Samantha Sheen co-wrote and presented the recent highly popular ACAMS sanctions compliance course series and is an active conference speaker. Over the past 12 months, her speaking engagements have included presentations at Infoline and the Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime on behalf of Thomson Reuters.
Originally from Montreal, Canada, Sheen started her legal career in Toronto in the late 1990s. She is a Certified Anti Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) and a graduate of the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government Strategic Management of Regulatory and Enforcement Agencies program. A qualified lawyer, Samantha Sheen has a Master’s degree in Risk Management and a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration.
Samantha Sheen will report to ACAMS Head of Europe Angela Salter and will work closely with ACAMS Executive Vice President, John Byrne and ACAMS Executive Director Rick McDonell, former Executive Secretary FATF (Financial Action Task Force). “ACAMS expansion across Europe over the past 12 months has been phenomenal and as we embark on the next phase of organisational development, we are delighted to be welcoming Samantha Sheen to the leadership team, where her direct experience of the legal and regulatory challenges facing anti financial crime professionals across Europe will be instrumental to our continued success,” says Angela Salter, Head of Europe at ACAMS.
John Byrne, Executive Vice President ACAMS, said “ACAMS is a truly global provider of high quality AML education and training to over 37,000 AML/CTF members worldwide. Samantha Sheen’s wealth of international AML/CTF compliance experience at a senior level and deep expertise in Europe and Offshore markets, will be an invaluable asset in our mission to support the international AML community”.
“In my previous roles leading compliance functions with financial institutions and as a regulator” says Sheen, “I saw and was impressed by ACAMS global reach and the high quality events and education it delivers. I’m excited to be joining ACAMS and look forward to working closely with all those dedicated professionals who are members of ACAMS and to contributing to the important role ACAMS plays in providing high quality education and in developing best practice globally, which are essential elements for organisations in tackling money laundering and financial crime”.
