ACAMS Singapore Conference

Ms. Heather Armstrong is the FBI Legal Attaché in Singapore, appointed December 4, 2023. She holds an MBA in Business Administration & Information Systems from Southeastern University (2004) and a B.A. from the University of Maryland (2001). Prior to joining the FBI, she worked in the technology sector specializing in network and systems administration.

Ms. Armstrong began her FBI career as a Special Agent on April 16, 2006. She served in the Miami Division (2006–2014) on Violent Crimes Against Children and Counterintelligence matters, then moved to the Cyber Division in 2014 to train international law enforcement partners and cyber agents in advanced techniques. In 2016 she was promoted to Unit Chief of the Security and Suitability Adjudication Unit in Washington, D.C. From 2019–2021 she served as Assistant Legal Attaché in Lagos, Nigeria, overseeing investigations into financial fraud, cybercrime, and kidnappings for ransom. In 2021 she joined the Houston Field Office, supervising a squad focused on money laundering, financial fraud, and foreign corruption.

Stuart has been stationed with INTERPOL for eight years and works as a criminal intelligence analyst based at the INTERPOL Global Centre for Innovation in Singapore. As part of his role, he looks at organized criminal activity in relation to online financial fraud, money laundering and corrupt practices. Prior to this he worked in law enforcement in New Zealand with a focus on complex fraud and black-market crime.

Gary Ang bridges AI, quantitative finance, and risk management. He spent 18 years at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Most recently, he led AI risk supervision at MAS, where he developed Singapore's first AI risk management guidelines for the financial sector. He was previously division head for investment risk management, overseeing risk management of Singapore's foreign reserves, and also has deep expertise in Basel capital rules, banking and capital market policies, and model risk supervision.

Gary holds a PhD in Computer Science from Singapore Management University, where his research on deep learning for networks, time series, and multimodal data was published at leading venues including ACL and ACM conferences. He received the SMU Presidential Doctoral Fellowship and an Honorable Mention at ACM IUI. He also holds Masters degrees in Financial Engineering and Knowledge Engineering from NUS, as well as an Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Toronto.

He has taught AI, machine learning, and data science at MAS, NUS, SMU, Nanyang Polytechnic, and SUSS, and is a certified adult learning professional (ACLP). Beyond finance and technology, Gary is also a professional illustrator and watercolor artist whose work has been commissioned by Wallpaper and Tatler.

Alexon brings over 25 years of experience in helping organisation transition into next generation technologies by building transformative technology and teams to support organisations on their journeys. At Quantexa Alexon works to establish Decision Intelligence as a core component in the Digital Transformation of organisations focusing on the front office / business and second line risk and compliance functions. Part of this is repeatability and quality through the Blueprint programme and the safe introduction of AI and Gen AI into highly regulated environments.  Alexon has considerable experienced in tackling complex financial crime and regulatory compliance challenges across multiple sectors.

Fiona Choong is Head of Compliance at OKX Singapore, with over a decade of expertise in financial services compliance specialising in payment services and banking. She works closely with regulators and enforcement agencies on licensing and compliance within Singapore's highly regulated regime, and has led critical initiatives to secure licenses for payment service providers under the Payment Services Act. Beyond her role at OKX Singapore, Fiona leads the Compliance Action Task Force at ACCESS and co-chairs the Regulation and Compliance Committee at the Digital Assets Association (DAA), cementing her standing as a prominent figure for responsible digital asset industry growth in the region.

Joel is a senior and seasoned compliance officer with over 23 years’ experience of running large and diverse compliance teams, from multiple global financial centres and across multiple disciplines, including business advisory, country regulatory and financial crime, monitoring & surveillance, and risk frameworks. Joel began his career in London with Morgan Stanley and then JPMorgan, providing advisory compliance coverage to various businesses including Fixed Income, Futures & Options and Commodities trading, within global markets franchises. Subsequently Joel relocated to Singapore with UBS to provide advisory compliance coverage to its equities and exchange traded derivatives businesses.

Joel joined Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) in Singapore in 2009 and across 16 years performed a number of roles in different parts of the compliance department, starting with running the compliance team providing advisory coverage to the FICC (Fixed Income Currencies and Commodities) and Treasury Markets businesses. During this time Joel lead the compliance workstreams to the Bank’s survey benchmark submission and foreign exchange trading regulatory remediation exercises from 2011-14, which included major conduct investigation and control enhancement efforts. Joel lead SCB’s the global compliance surveillance team from 2014-2018, overseeing a major transformation initiative, including a multi-million dollar technology implementation programme, which was driven by significantly more stringent regulatory requirements, most notably the implementation of the European Union Market Abuse Regulation (MAR). Joel also oversaw the transformation of the Bank’s conflict of interest (CoI) management framework including implementing policies, procedures, and a CoI inventory system connected to the enterprise risk management platform.

More recently from 2018 to 2025, Joel performed a number of regional compliance head roles, running the wholesale banking compliance team for north Asia, and subsequently the overall compliance function (retail and wholesale banking) for the wider Asia region, operating from Hong Kong, and then finally the ASEAN and South Asia compliance teams, back in Singapore. During this time Joel also oversaw the Standard Chartered Bank’s Technology & Functions Compliance team, which delivered second line challenge and oversight for compliance and regulatory risks, for the bank’s corporate functions including the finance, treasury, human resources and technology & operations functions.

Joel has significant experience leading major conduct remediation exercises, overseeing investigations, and contributing to disciplinary processes, as well as overseeing multi-million dollar technology implementation initiatives, designing and implementing risk frameworks, and major transformations to compliance functions. Most recently Joel lead a workstream, as part of a major functional transformation programme, which sought to deliver the implementation of generative AI capabilities to empower compliance and regulatory advisory capabilities, to make compliance more efficient, effective and scalable.

Joel has been registered as a material risk personnel under the UK, Singapore and Hong Kong senior management / individual accountability regimes. Further, Joel has served on subsidiary boards in a non-executive director capacity, including chairing the risk committee for one subsidiary.

Joel joined SMBC as Deputy Regional Chief Compliance Officer for Asia Pacific, in September 2025.

Anthony is an experienced financial crime compliance executive with more than 20 years of experience across financial crime compliance, internal audit, and regulatory management in global financial institutions.

He currently serves as the Head of AML Business Compliance at OCBC, where he leads the 1.5 Lines of Defence team responsible for the Financial Institutions customer segment. In this role, he drives the design and implementation of robust CDD and AML controls within the front office, ensuring adherence to regulatory expectations while enabling sustainable business growth. Anthony also acts as a subject matter expert on AML/CFT matters, with deep specialisation in correspondent banking and payment intermediaries.

Before joining OCBC in 2019, Anthony held senior roles at Standard Chartered Bank, Credit Suisse, JP Morgan and Citibank. Across these positions, he developed extensive expertise in AML/CFT, sanctions compliance, product governance, client due diligence, regulatory engagement, and risk assessment across both corporate and retail banking segments.

Leigh is the Head of Financial Crime, Singapore and International Wealth and Premier Banking (IWPB), Asia, HSBC, based in Singapore.  He has held a number of roles across Financial Crime Compliance at major global financial institutions in London, Hong Kong, and Singapore most recently as Managing Director, Head of Anti-Money Laundering, Asia and Head of Financial Crime, International Wealth and Premier Banking, Asia at HSBC.  He has an MSc in Security Studies from University College London.

Hamida Khan is a seasoned Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorist Financing (CFT) professional with over two decades of experience in the financial services industry. Currently, Hamida leads the APAC FS AML/CFT Advisory L2 team at BNP Paribas Bank, Singapore, ensuring adherence to global frameworks and regional regulations for Corporate & Institutional Banking and Wealth Management businesses. Her purview encompasses Cash Management, Global Markets, Security Services, and Correspondent Banking.

Throughout her career, Hamida has held leadership positions at renowned institutions like Standard Chartered, ICICI and ABN AMRO Bank, where she spearheaded initiatives in transaction monitoring, risk management, and AML Advisory. Hamida’s key strengths lie in developing and implementing effective AML/CFT strategies.

Hamida Khan holds an MBA from the University of Roehampton, UK, and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Pune University, India. Committed to staying ahead of the curve, she has completed the Oxford Blockchain Strategy Program at the University of Oxford, Said Business School, and hold certifications from ACAMS and ICA in AML/CFT and Trade-Based Money Laundering.

Highly motivated and results-oriented, Hamida possesses a deep understanding of the evolving AML/CFT landscape in the Asia-Pacific region. She is passionate about building robust compliance frameworks that safeguard financial institutions from the ever-present risks of financial crime.

Caryn is the Regional Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Director – APAC for ACAMS, where she is the lead English speaking SME practitioner on AML and Financial Crime Compliance across the APAC region. Working closely with APAC and international colleagues, Caryn plays a key role in shaping ACAMS priorities, offerings, and activities across the APAC region.

Caryn brings to ACAMS a wealth of AFC global banking experience that spans Standard Chartered, JP Morgan, Clearstream Banking, UBS AG, ABN Amro and Bank of America. Most recently she was the Head of Financial Crime Compliance Controls, Surveillance Excellence with Standard Chartered Bank, where she was responsible for the end to end process, governance, and risk management of the group wide alert disposition process. Caryn’s expertise covers Client Due Diligence, financial crime business advisory, project management, governance, risk management, and the overarching financial crime compliance framework.

Ms. Cherrica Li is the U.S. Department of the Treasury foreign financial liaison based in Hong Kong.  In this role, she represents Treasury’s key anti-money laundering regulator and FIU and advises Washington on regional regulatory developments relating to AML/CFT frameworks and digital financial innovation.  Ms. Li engages with financial authorities, FIUs, and financial institutions to build public-private partnerships and promote international cooperation in fighting financial crime.  She also communicates regularly with the private sector on U.S. Treasury policies and programs at the intersection of national security and economic security.

Leeann Morentz is Managing Associate General Counsel, Financial Crime Legal Advisory at HSBC.  Previously, she served as Managing Director, Asia Pacific Head of Financial Crimes Risk Management at Wells Fargo and financial crimes counsel at Morgan Stanley. Leeann also spent a number of years in private law practice at Arnold & Porter and Paul Hastings in Washington, DC, focusing on financial crimes investigations and compliance program development in a wide range of industries, including finance, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, consumer products, and defense. 

Leeann holds a Juris Doctor (JD) from Duke University School of Law and received her Bachelor of Arts (AB) in History from Duke University.  She was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, and has lived and worked in New York, Washington, DC, Hong Kong, and Singapore. 

Ali Salim is a senior financial crime compliance executive with over 19 years of global banking experience. He currently serves as Singapore AML Country Officer (MLRO) at Citi, where he leads AML governance, regulatory engagement, and cross-border financial crime program.

In his role, Ali works closely with the Singapore and global regulators, overseeing complex regulatory interactions, remediation initiatives, and the strengthening of enterprise-wide AML/CFT and sanctions frameworks. He has led large, multi-jurisdictional teams and driven strategic transformation programs designed to enhance risk governance while supporting responsible business growth.

Ali is particularly focused on the intersection of financial crime risk, regulatory expectations, and emerging technology. He has championed AI-enabled monitoring enhancements, data-driven risk assessment methodologies, and governance models that balance innovation with control integrity.

Recognized for his strategic clarity and execution discipline, Ali brings a practitioner’s perspective to building resilient, future-ready financial crime frameworks in an increasingly complex global risk environment.

Eric is Head of Financial Crime Investigations Singapore at HSBC. He leads end-to-end proactive and reactive investigations to identify and mitigate financial crime risks, covering direct and indirect exposures, emerging typologies, and control weaknesses.

With over 16 years in the Singapore Police Force investigating money laundering predicate offences, Eric later moved to Standard Chartered Bank, where he led complex cross-border financial crime investigations at Group level. This public-private sector experience shapes his practical perspective on the current financial crime landscape.

He holds an MSc in Wealth Management from Singapore Management University, advanced training in alternative investments from Yale University, and professional certifications including CAMS, CGSS, CFE, CCAS, and TRM-CI.

Dane specializes in financial crime and regulatory risk in fintech, digital assets, and e-commerce, with previous experience in public and private sector roles in the U.S., India, and Singapore. He currently oversees Coinbase's compliance teams in Asia and Latin America, and also leads Strategic Execution initiatives, and previously worked at Citi, PayPal, Standard Chartered, and the U.S. Treasury Department. He lives in Singapore with his family.

Ekta is a highly accomplished and results-driven Compliance professional with over 15 years of progressive leadership experience across banking, fintech, and the Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) sector. She specialize in AML/CFT and regulatory compliance, FCC control testing and operational excellence. Holding 3 Master's Degree, Compliance certifications and recently selected as one of the top 15 compliance officers in Asia 2025.  Ekta Singh is Chief Compliance officer, MLRO and She brings wealth of knowledge and awareness of ethics, compliance, business management, current industry trends and technological advancement in the Fintech, regulatory compliance, RegTech area.

She is Subcommittee member of Regtech at Singapore Fintech Association, Ambassador for Singapore Fintech Festival & GBBC, Active working group member of ACCESS, AML working group member at Global Digital finance (GDF), Trainer at RHT academy and Fintelekt focusing on ethics & compliance, fraud management, risk assessment and AML/CFT.  She also volunteers as mentor at iLead program and Stories of Asia (SOA). 

With over 20 years of experience in forensic investigation and fraud prevention, I am an expert in applying behavioural science and data analytics to identify and mitigate fraud risks. I have a proven track record of leading and innovating in both public and private sectors, winning multiple awards for my excellence and impact.

As the Executive Director, Head of Anti-Fraud, Bribery & Corruption Policy, Advisory and Training (AFBC) of Group Compliance at United Overseas Bank (UOB), one of Asia's leading banks, I lead a team of professionals to manage and prevent fraud across the bank's operations and channels. I have successfully implemented various initiatives and solutions to enhance the bank's fraud detection and prevention capabilities, as well as to improve the customer experience and satisfaction. My team also provides advisory support to help identify, address and mitigate AFBC risks. This includes managing escalations from frontline and concerns identified by Compliance using data analytics models.

I am the secretariat for the UOB’s Fraud Risk Management Committee (FRMC) which provides oversight on the strategies, framework, policies, programme, and structure covering internal and external Fraud Risk Management (across people, processes, and systems) for UOB, all its overseas banking subsidiaries and branches (“UOB Group”).

I am passionate about creating value and impact for the bank and its stakeholders such as the Singapore Police Force and Anti-Scam Centre (ASC), as well as fostering a culture of innovation and excellence within my team and the organization. I was a member of the ABS Anti-Scam Taskforce (ASTF) in 2020 before it was renamed as ABS Standing Committee for Fraud (SCF) in 2023, leading workstreams to address scams issues for the industry.

Prior to joining UOB in 2017, I spent 16 years in the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) doing law enforcement work in intelligence, investigation, forensic and innovation, and my last rank was Superintendent. I won several innovation and operational excellence awards in MHA and was sponsored by CNB to study for Master of Science in Technopreneurship and Innovation (MSc TIP) at NTU in 2016 whereby I was eventually awarded the Top Student among my cohort in 2018.