By Elizabeth Hearst for AMLi
Outgoing FATF chief David Lewis has been named Financial Crime Fighter of the year.
The task force’s executive secretary received the award ahead of a glittering shortlist of crime and mafia fighters and investigative journalists.
The judges said the Welshman showed “outstanding leadership in the field of AML/CFT.” in particular for his role as FATF Executive Secretary and G20 Deputy between October 2015 to December 2021.
His candour earned him praise from the judges who commended him for being “prepared to challenge the FATF to ask itself some very important questions with some difficult answers coming back”.
The two official Runners Up were the International Consortium of International Journalists (ICIJ), and William Downer, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions in the Western Cape, South Africa.
The full shortlist in the GCFFC Awards was:
- Nicola Gratteri, Italy’s leading anti-mafia prosecutor
- Hennie Verbeek-Kusters, Chair of Egmont Group
- Transaction Monitoring Netherlands (TMNL)
- The Cullen Commission, The Enquiry into Money Laundering in British Columbia, Canada
- William (Billy) Downer, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions in the Western Cape, South Africa
- International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
- Steward McGlynn, Executive Director AML, Monetary Authority of Hong Kong
- Tracy Paradise, Former Wolfsberg Group Executive Secretary
- Valerie Tay – Executive Director AML, Monetary Authority of Singapore
Announcing the award the Global Coalition Fighting Financial Crime (GCFFC) said Lewis had “strengthened, built and led an excellent team at the FATF Secretariat with many achievements advancing the fight against financial crime, including on existing and emerging threats such as those from cybercrime and virtual currencies, human trafficking, people smuggling, as well as continued focus on proliferation finance and terrorism finance”.
Mr. Lewis was also deemed instrumental in persuading the previous Chinese Presidency of FATF to include environmental crimes, including illegal wildlife trade as a priority in China and for FATF.
Often vocal about fighting financial crime, Mr. Lewis “engaged with a broad range of stakeholders beyond the traditional government representatives, using multiple media channels”, and regularly attended conferences and events to spread awareness.
Mr. Lewis has previously been outspoken about the current “box-ticking” mentality of fighting FinCrime, and has called for increased focus on new technologies, information sharing and the need for public-private partnerships.
In October, AML Intelligence reported that FATF’s Executive Secretary was set to resign, following the publication of a letter in which Mr. Lewis revealed he was unhappy with the renewal process which included a “proposal out of the blue to introduce a new requirement that the role be readvertised”, regardless of performance.
As news broke on social media of Mr. Lewis’ award, the world of FinCrime was quick to applaud him. Taking to LinkedIn, Global Head of Financial Crime & Industry Affairs at Refinitv, Che Sidanius said Mr. Lewis’ leadership was “exemplary”.
Craig Timm, Managing Director, Financial Crimes Compliance at Bank of America congratulated Mr. Lewis, and said: “The work you’ve done through FATF to move the discussion toward effectiveness will change the world! Well deserved”.
The GCFCC “Financial Crime Fighter” award is given to a person or organisation that has provided “outstanding leadership” in AML or CFT. Nominations and voting are carried out by GCFCC Members and Experts.
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