ΠΕΡΙΓΡΑΦΗ

We stand on the brink of the 4th Industrial Revolution that is completely changing the world of business and transforms the way transactions are conducted.  At the same time, the anti-money laundering & terrorist financing (AML & TF) regime demands compliance from businesses, integrating such compliance to their everyday business operations, and their long-term and strategic planning, while the criminal world is taking advantage of the technological advancements to carry out their operations more efficiently and anonymously.  As a result, government and regulatory agencies keep introducing stricter directive for businesses to prevent criminal activities.   

The introduction of the 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD5) that was published on June 19th, 2018, amends the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive, and intends to make the legal situation on the cryptocurrency market more transparent.  Thus, the AMLD5 is enriched with regulations related to cryptocurrency businesses, aiming to strengthen the barriers to fight against money laundering and restrain terrorist financing.  Among other, its scope extends to new sectors including cryptocurrency and custodian wallet providers, estate agents and rental intermediaries and art dealers, increases transparency around beneficial ownership information and trusts and ensures access to trusted data in order to streamline risk mitigation processes.

While the growth of the cryptocurrency market has been exponential, it still lacks a consistent legal and regulatory framework.  In the light of this, the 5th Directive is of significant importance since it constitutes a key development and a uniform framework for regulators across the EU to adopt.  Along with this, emerging technologies, like Blockchain, are revolutionizing the compliance framework by creating new innovative and effective ways ranging from transaction monitoring and regulatory reporting to identity management and compliance improvement.

ΣΚΟΠΟΣ ΣΕΜΙΝΑΡΙΟΥ

At a Knowledge Level:

1. Describe money laundering and terrorist financing
2. Describe  blockchain technology
3. To formulate how blockchain works 
4. Comprehend about emerging technology and blockchain-reliant businesses (like cryptoexchange, and wallet providers) and how they operate 
5. Comprehend the main amendments and developments brought by the 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive
6. Comprehend the Name the obliged entities

At a Skills Level:

1. To document whether their business falls within the updated AML provisions regarding obliged entities
2. To perform and apply the 5th AML updated provisions and rules to internal AML policies and manualsto ensure compliance.

At an Approach Level:

1. Encourage an AML culture in anticipation of potential expansion of AML obligations to further blockchain-enabled activities and services.
2. Encourage the preparation of the ground for business-wide adoption and training in AML for blockchain-enabled projects.

ΣΕ ΠΟΙΟΥΣ ΑΠΕΥΘΥΝΕΤΑΙ

• compliance officers 
• Lawyers
• internal and external legal advisors 
• blockchain technologists and developers 
• IT professionals

who want to expand their knowledge on the AML & TF frameworks and the Blockchain technology, and provide exchange services between virtual currencies and fiat currencies, e.g. cryptocurrency exchange platforms, cryptocurrency exchanges, and others.

ΠΕΡΙΣΣΟΤΕΡΕΣ ΠΛΗΡΟΦΟΡΙΕΣ

Topics Covered

• Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing: An introduction.
• The 5th AML Directive: Its importance and the changes that it brings
• Blockchain Fundamentals
• Cryptocurrencies
• Cryptocurrencies under the 5th AML Directive.

Instructor Style:

The course is delivered by someone with hands on experience. Highly practical, relevant and important and safely this course is for you.The instructor blends theory with highly practical case studies and examples derived from her long experience.

CPD accreditation: 

The course may be approved for up to 7 CPD units verified directly by the participant's association, regulator or other bodies which holds membership.

Trainer: Christiana Aristidou

Christiana Aristidou is a former partner of a 50-year legacy medium-sized family law firm, now the managing partner of Christiana Aristidou LLC., a hybrid lawtech firm.

Christiana has been practicing business and technology law for more than 23 years, she is a Member of the Cyprus Bar Association (CBA) since 1997, President of the Technology Committee of the CBA, an approved Trainer (CyQF-EQF-003266), a Certified International Legal Project Practitioner (IILPM), a Member of the Project Management Institute (PMI), a Certified GDPR Expert (HELP-EU), and a Digital Transformation Specialist. She is a Cyprus Delegate to the ISO TC/307 Blockchain Committee, a member of WG6 on Blockchain Use Cases actively contributing to the Blockchain Use-Case Lab reviewing and advising Blockchain and DLT applications and projects in a wide range of industries, and also a Member of WG-3 actively drafting standards on Smart Contracts. Christiana is also a Member of ITU and served in ITU-FG-DLTs and is a co-founding member and Vice-Chair of the Cyprus Blockchain Association (CBA). Christiana is an Advisory Board Member of the SOV Foundation, advising the Government of the Marshal Islands on the implementation of the SOV digital currency.

Having studied and lived in more than five different countries, i.e., Greece, the UK, Germany, China, and Cyprus, Christiana combined legal studies on law and technology, in both, common law and civil law jurisdictions and maintains a very rich business network which supports a global reach of more than 50K professionals and corporates in more than 120 countries. Christiana has been involved in multijurisdictional and complex business and technology legal projects and worked extensively with Silicon Valley-based technology companies, founders, entrepreneurs, angel investors and venture capitalists of diverse backgrounds, banks, payment and e-money institutions, funds and fund managers, investment firms, insurance firms, and telecoms giants. She holds management and advisory positions on the boards of several corporate bodies, profit, and not-for-profit, foundations, and charities.

Her expertise lies in the intersection of Business Law, Technology, and Innovation with a focus on digital banking and payment innovation, financial services and fintech, M&A, venture capital/private equity investments, regulatory compliance and regtech, telecommunications, antitrust and competition, proptech, insurtech, corporate finance, and corporate restructuring, funding and innovative financial instruments, internet and cybersecurity, eCommerce, software and gaming, Intellectual Property and technology IP protection, transactional deals and documentation, technology contract drafting, and intellectual property taxing.

She has advised major local and international players on business transformation, emerging and advanced technologies, platform design, legal mechanics and legal architecture for platform-based innovative business models, start-up projects and funding (i.e. ICOs, STOs, IPOs), digital identity, electronic signatures, digital onboarding, and online identity verification,  implementation of open banking and payment innovation, data protection, data flow and privacy by design, e-money, digital currencies, crypto-assets and crypto-exchanges, tokens, tokenization, tokenecomics, token economy, and cybersecurity. Christiana is a graduate of the law school of the Kapodistrian University of Athens-Greece and holds three (3) Master degrees from the UK, in Common Law (UEA-UK), in International Commercial and Business Law (UEA-UK), and Computers and Telecommunications Law (Queen Mary College of London University-UK). She also holds a Certificate in International Commercial Arbitration from the University of Cologne, Germany, and a certificate in Chinese Culture and language (HSK2) from Mandarin House-Shanghai-China. Christiana also holds a certificate in Digital Currencies from the University of Nicosia.

Christiana is an approved trainer training leaders, executives, teams, and departments on emerging technologies such as Blockchains and AI and several major EU Directives, Regulations, and other legal and regulatory compliance instruments, such as PSD II and Open Banking, AML/CTF, MIFIR, MiFID-I, MiFID-II, AIFM, UCITS, Capital Requirements Directive (CRD), Transparency Directive, eIDAS Regulation, Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market, the European Union Telecommunications Framework and GDPR. She is also a legal author with numerous publications and articles in reputable journals, legal magazines, and on social media and a regular speaker at national and international law and technology conferences and summits.