ACAMS Baltics Conference

Matis Mäeker is the head of the Estonian Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and a member of the MONEYVAL Bureau. Mäeker has been the evaluator and reviewer of many mutual evaluation reports conducted by MONEYVAL. He is also a member of the Estonian delegation to MONEYVAL and a member of the Heads of FIU of the Egmont Group. He has also been an alternative member of the European Banking Authority’s AML Standing Committee on anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing (AMLSC). 

Mäeker has extensive knowledge of anti-money laundering (AML) and counter -terrorist financing (CTF) from both angels—the preventative and the criminal side. He is the author of the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority’s AML/CTF public guideline and internal guidelines, the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority’s risk-based approach model, as well as t and he co-author of ed the book The AML Compliance Book: 150 Golden Rules.

John E. Smith, former Director of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), is co-head of Morrison Foerster’s National Security practice, and a partner of the Global Risk + Crisis Management group and Investigations + White Collar group. After serving 11 years as a top official at OFAC and three years as its Director, John brings to the firm unmatched experience in economic sanctions, enforcement, and national security.

Both in the United States and globally, clients turn to John for his deep experience and unique perspective on the complexities and escalating risk of U.S. and multilateral sanctions. He is a trusted advisor for clients navigating significant civil and criminal enforcement actions by U.S. and other government prosecutors and regulators.

While serving as a top official at OFAC, John was centrally involved in all aspects of developing, implementing, and enforcing U.S. government sanctions requirements. As OFAC Director, he oversaw every OFAC enforcement case against financial institutions and global operating companies. John played a pivotal role as OFAC moved to the center of our nation’s response to the world’s most complex and challenging national security and foreign policy crises, working closely with other governments and multilateral agencies and the private sector.

John has leading expertise on U.S. sanctions, anti-money laundering (AML), and export controls cases and policies. While serving at OFAC, he worked closely with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to pursue major sanctions and export controls enforcement matters, including significant civil and criminal penalties against major global actors and noteworthy cases against malicious cyber actors. He has overseen the U.S. government’s economic sanctions efforts, imposing sanctions on heads of state, countries, and illicit actors, conducting enforcement actions against dozens of major financial institutions and companies around the world, and developing innovative sanctions enforcement policies to address evolving U.S. national security priorities.

Louis Wierenga is a Lecturer in International Relations at the Baltic Defence College and a political analyst at the Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies, University of Tartu, where he is completing his PhD. His research interests include NATO, European and Baltic Sea Region security issues, AI and emerging disruptive technologies, US foreign policy, and the global security environment. Louis is also an analyst at the Latvian Institute of International Affairs (LIIA). 

Previously Louis has researched populist radical right parties - specifically leadership and party structure, social media and discursive opportunity structures, youth organizations, transnational networks, foreign, defence, and security policy, and metapolitical actors and their engagements between ideology and party structures.

Louis is currently a researcher for the Horizon Europe project, REMIT ‘Reignite Multilateralism via Technology’, which analyzes addressing global problems through technology. He has previously held a Horizon 2020 Junior Research Fellowship for POPREBEL ‘Populist Rebellion Against Modernity.’

Previously Louis has held guest fellowships at Uppsala University’s IRES (Institute for Russian and Eurasian Studies), Sodertorn University’s Department of Political Science; and with the Chair of Comparative Politics at European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder). He has also held guest lecturer positions at the University of Latvia and the Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech). 

Louis received his MA from the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and his BA in history and European Studies from York University in Toronto Canada. 

Prior to entering academia, Louis served in the United States Marine Corps in the infantry. He is also a frequent media commentator.

Anna is a CEO and co-founder at Lex Law Office, the leading law firm in Fintech and IT space. 

Anna has extensive experience working for tax authorities and government working groups. Anna also had a government authority working and practice exchange visits in different EU countries. During her career, she has taken part in the development of changes in regulation and cooperation between the public authorities of Estonia. Due to this experience, Anna considers vital the cooperation between innovations start-ups, government authorities and legal experts to provide the elaboration of innovational technology and a supportive business environment.

Since 2018 Anna advises companies in the field of cryptocurrency, compliance and Fintech regulation, with a specialization in the Estonian and EU regulation. Anna is also a public speaker and co-organizer of CryptoFin Conference. 

In 2020 Anna was a member of Virtual assets and Blockchain working Group, who is working on the EU virtual assets regulation and communication with EU government authorities. In 2021-2022 Anna drafted the expert opinion and amendments to the Estonian VASPs regulation and took a part of the round tables and discussions with the legislators in Estonia.

Anna assists clients in the legal issues related to finance law, the Money-Laundering regulation, compliance, corporate law, communication with government authorities and regulators. 

Since 2024 co-founder at MiCAexperts project. Since 2025 Supervisory Board member at Spectro Finance.

Laura Aus is the Deputy Head of Estonian Financial Intelligence Unit. Main focus areas are international sanctions, countering terrorist finance and supervision. Former Head of International Financial Sanctions and Counter Terrorist Financing Department and the Lawyer of Anti-Money Laundering Supervision Department of Finantsinspektsioon – the Estonian Financial Supervisory Authority. With a background in law and economics, she has worked in both, public and private sector. In addition, she has experiences in conducting AML/CFT national supervisory activities, developing sanctions compliance framework for financial institutions and in developing sanctions guidelines. She has been also an assessor for MONEYVAL (FATF) – the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism.

Kieran Beer is chief analyst and director of editorial content with responsibility for ACAMS moneylaundering.com, ACAMS Today and content for many ACAMS conferences and other programs. Prior to joining ACAMS in 2006, he was executive editor of Bloomberg Wealth Manager, an award winning investment and financial planning magazine, and he also served as a staff writer for Bloomberg Markets Magazine.

Kieran has been a financial journalist for more than 25 years, beginning his career at Institutional Investor. He subsequently served as editor-in-chief of The Bond Buyer, founding editor of Thomson Municipal Market Monitor, and editor at the American Banker.

Kieran speaks regularly at industry conferences, has appeared on CNBC and Sky News, and has been heard on WBBR and NPR. He writes two columns on anti-financial crime issues and is the host of “Financial Crime Matters,” a podcast series, as well ACAMS videocasts on YouTube.

Vitālijs is the sanctions officer and expert in SEB Bank Latvia, heading the Sanctions compliance unit. Has worked in the Banking industry since 2007, including Nordea, Luminor and SEB, with over 10 years in Anti-Financial crime & sanctions area.

Vitālijs is ACAMS Certified Anti Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) and Certified Global Sanctions Specialist (CGSS).

On 9 June 2022, the Saeima (Parliament) of the Republic of Latvia appointed Kristīne Černaja-Mežmale as a Member of the Council of Latvijas Banka for a five-year term, beginning on 1 January 2023. 

Kristīne Černaja-Mežmale holds a Master’s degree in Financial Management. 

Her professional background is closely linked to the financial sector and the supervision of financial market participants. From 2006 to 2017, Kristīne Černaja-Mežmale held various positions at Swedbank AS. On 18 August 2017, she joined the Financial and Capital Market Commission. From 2018, she served as the Head of the Monetary Financial Institutions Operations Analysis Division of the Supervision Department. Prior to that, she was the Deputy Head of the same division with responsibility for the supervision of significant institutions. 

From 7 November 2019 to 31 December 2022, Kristīne Černaja-Mežmale was a Member of the Board of the Financial and Capital Market Commission. 

Since 2025, she has been representing Latvia's interests at the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMLA). 

On 27 January 2026, the Board of Supervisors of the European Banking Authority (EBA) reappointed Kristīne Černaja Mežmale as a Member of the EBA Management Board for a further two-and-a-half year term.

Sam is the Anti-Financial Crime and Sanctions Research Lead at ACAMS, responsible for driving research across the breadth of global financial crime risks. His role includes co-authoring and leading the data analysis behind ACAMS flagship annual Global AFC Threats Report, as well as other research initiatives. Sam also delivers sanctions masterclasses and webinars, including the monthly sanctions watch series, and regularly speaks at conferences, helping institutions strengthen their AFC and sanctions controls and capabilities.

Prior to ACAMS, Sam worked on the Sanctions Policy team at UK Finance - the trade association for the UK banking sector, as well as at NATO’s Center of Excellence for Defence Against Terrorism.

Koos Couvée has been ACAMS moneylaundering.com’s European reporter since October 2017 and is responsible for covering the development of laws, regulations and compliance procedures designed to clamp down on illicit finance in the United Kingdom and European Union. Prior to joining ACAMS, Koos worked as a news journalist at various regional and national newspapers based in London.

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Dejan Davidovic is the co-founder and Chief Operating and Integrity Officer of Kriptomat, an Estonian-based, regulated crypto platform serving hundreds of thousands of users across the EU, with a strong focus on Eastern European markets. Since 2018, he has led Kriptomat’s development into one of the most transparent and trusted crypto providers by embedding compliance, security, and customer protection into its core operating model. A recognised thought leader at the intersection of innovation and regulation, Dejan has played a key role in Kriptomat’s licensing under MiCA regimes, ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification, and the adoption of AI-driven tools in compliance and fraud prevention. He advocates for “Compliance 3.0”—a forward-thinking approach that leverages technology, data, and governance to mitigate risk without stifling innovation. His leadership has been recognised with nominations for the ICA Europe Awards (2024, 2025) as Financial Crime Prevention Leader of the Year.

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Paulis has 9 years of experience in anti-financial crime and sanctions compliance, having worked as a lawyer at Deloitte and since 2019 – at the Latvian FIU. In 2023, Paulis was appointed the Deputy Head of FIU in charge of core financial intelligence functions, including operational analysis, strategic analysis and public-private partnerships for combatting money laundering and sanctions evasion. In 2024, Paulis was assigned with setting-up the framework for FIU becoming the national competent authority for sanctions implementation. Paulis was a Steering Group member at the Europol Financial Intelligence Public Private Partnership (EFIPPP) until 2023. He has a Master’s degree in law and he is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) and Certified Global Sanctions Specialist (CGSS). Paulis is the Deputy Head of the Latvian MONEYVAL working group and a certified MONEYVAL assessor.

Karīna Lindava is a financial crime risk and compliance leader with broad experience in AML/CFT, sanctions, and fraud risk management. Her work focuses on identifying and mitigating financial crime risks in high-velocity payment flows, including instant payments.

She has led and contributed to the strengthening of control frameworks, ensuring regulatory expectations are effectively translated into operational practice. Karīna brings a pragmatic perspective on balancing innovation, customer convenience, and financial crime risk.

Olevs Nikers is a founding president of the Baltic Security Foundation, Senior Fellow of the Jamestown Foundation (U.S.) and former advisor to the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Latvia. From 2001 to 2019, Mr. Nikers has worked at the Ministry of Defence of Latvia in position of chief expert. Mr. Nikers has led the Baltic Security Strategy Project (2017 – 2019) supported by the Baltic-American Freedom Foundation and The Jamestown Foundation, and the Baltic Sea Security Initiative (2019 – 2021). He is author, co-author and editor of a series of publications in the field of regional security and international relations. Mr. Nikers is a graduate in international relations from The Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University. In 2023 he was recipient of the Fulbright Scholar award – hosted as a resident fellow by the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University, USA. As a PhD candidate at the Riga Stradiņš University, Mr. Nikers is focused on regional security politics and Transatlantic security.

Andre Nõmm is a Member of the Management Board of the Estonian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA), responsible AML and business conduct supervision. Since 2026, he has been a voting member of the Board of Supervisors of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), and since 2024, a member of the General Board of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Authority (AMLA). From 2014 to 2026, Andre Nõmm served as a voting member of the Board of Supervisors of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).

Law practitioner for almost 30 years. Coordinates the state policies in the fields of auditing, bookkeeping, anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing, and gambling. Has been working in government sector for over 12 years, but as well in private sector for 18 years.

Alexandre Pinot is a FinTech and anti-financial crime expert with over 15 years of experience in financial services. He has held senior risk, leadership, and compliance roles within both large corporates and smaller FinTechs and advised multiple financial institutions on licensing, operations, and risk management.

As Co-founder of AMLYZE, he leads innovation and strategy, helping financial institutions navigate evolving regulatory and operational challenges. He also co-chairs the ACAMS Baltics Chapter, supporting industry collaboration and education.

Svetlana Prussova is a regulatory and compliance professional with a strong legal background and extensive experience in financial regulation, governance, and anti-money laundering (AML) frameworks within the European regulatory environment. She has worked at the intersection of law, financial supervision, and risk management, contributing to the development and implementation of regulatory standards designed to strengthen transparency and integrity in financial systems.

Throughout her career, Svetlana has been actively involved in complex regulatory matters, including supervisory processes, legal interpretation of financial legislation, and participation in regulatory working groups focused on advancing compliance practices and policy development. She has collaborated with cross-functional and international stakeholders, contributing to discussions shaping the evolving regulatory landscape.

Her professional focus includes AML/CFT compliance, regulatory policy, risk-based supervision, and the impact of emerging technologies on financial regulation. Svetlana is particularly interested in how regulatory systems adapt to crypto assets, cross-border financial activity, and new global standards.

She is passionate about knowledge-sharing and interdisciplinary dialogue, bringing together perspectives from law, finance, and public policy. As a speaker, she provides practical insights into regulatory practice, institutional decision-making, and the real-world challenges of implementing complex compliance frameworks.

Currently expanding her professional activities internationally, contributing to global conversations on regulation, compliance, and responsible financial systems.