Based out of Beirut, Shawki is a former banker with 20+ years of experience spanning multiple areas like cross-border payments and investigations, trade finance, customer onboarding and KYC operations, correspondent banking, and last but not least AML/CFT & sanctions. In his compliance function, Shawki assumed the role of Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) and head of sanctions division for 10 years within Lebanese banking sector. In parallel, Shawki is a university lecturer, speaker, and trainer at: Union of Arab Banks (UAB), ACAMS, Romanian Banking Institute (RBI-Bucharest), OECD/Paris, Governance Dynamics (UAE), General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI)-Bahrain, Emirates Institute of Finance (EIF-UAE), and other institutions tasked with countering money laundering, terrorist financing, sanctions evasion, & proliferation finance. Moreover, he is a trainer at PwC’s academy in Dubai & has been contracted as subject matter expert with other big 4 consultancy firms in London and KSA to render AFC services in different aspects. Shawki is Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) and Certified Global Sanctions Specialist (CGSS) from ACAMS. Among his other certifications, Shawki holds Combating Financial Crime (CFC) certificate from Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI)-UK and teach their course throughout the region. On the academic level, he holds a Master’s degree from American University of Beirut (AUB) in Public Administration. As a seasoned trainer, Shawki has designed and delivered a diverse array of training programs addressing sanctions, fraud, AML/CFT and 3rd party risks, proliferation finance, TBML, ABC-Anti-Bribery & Corruption, and other GRC themes across the MENA/GCC and Europe. Part of his trainings within the MENA and East Africa region aim at building and strengthening capacities of FIUs and reporting entities to counter illicit financial flows and mitigate financial crime risks. As AFC consultant, Shawki conducts AML/CFT reviews and audits for financial institutions within the region helping them identify compliance threats, enhance their internal control environment, and meet regulatory requirements.