Located in proximity to political and financial “centres” Brussels and Frankfurt, Luxembourg—seat to several EU institutions, including the European Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office—offers a dynamic scene for both private companies and public organisations.
The ACAMS Luxembourg Chapter launched two years ago, right before the start of the pandemic. The first and only in-person event so far took place in January 2020 in the business district of the country’s capital, Luxembourg City and brought together speakers from different industries and countries, as well as national regulators, academia and a large and diverse audience of anti-financial crime (AFC) professionals. The pandemic did not stop the chapter members. Four virtual, highly interactive events were held in 2021 alone, with a growing interest from the AFC community—an average attendance rate of over 100 attendees per event. Topics ranged from regulatory impact to how technology can be better deployed to assist compliance. They also saw regular engagement from Luxembourg’s national supervisor, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier financial intelligence unit and other relevant authorities. In addition, the launch of the chapter helped bolster the number of ACAMS members in Luxembourg over the last two years, increasing the number of AFC professionals in the country.
One year after the successful launch, board and leadership changes took place. Two new board members joined whilst the chair departed to join another ACAMS chapter. The board members place great emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion. Tatiana Turculet joined as chair and Fabrizio Lorini joined as co-chair, to ensure gender balance. The board currently includes professionals from the banking sector, the fund industry and international financial institutions. Board members have been collaborating with the ACAMS Netherlands Chapter and, lately, with the newly launched ACAMS Eurasia Chapter, exchanging best practices in the AFC field and offering mentorship support.
Now heading into its third year of continuous growth, the ACAMS Luxembourg Chapter is looking forward to continuing to exchange best practices on regulatory developments at both domestic and supranational levels and keeping a continuous dialogue with the relevant stakeholders. The board has been meeting regularly to brainstorm and decide on upcoming topics, always considering participants’ feedback and the ever-changing regulatory developments. The chapter will focus particularly on technological developments, leveraging Luxembourg’s position as a global competitive fintech and funds hub, but also on topics such as environmental, social and governance (ESG), crypto, as well as the upcoming EU Anti-Money Laundering Package whilst bringing together policymakers and market players from various industries in Luxembourg and other jurisdictions.
Tatiana Turculet, CAMS, co-chair, ACAMS Luxembourg Chapter, luxembourgchapter@acams.org
