AFC in Practice: Sanctions Compliance in Maritime, Aviation and Logistics Firms

Holger Pauco-Dirscherl is an experienced and passionate Senior Financial Crime Professional with a unique blend of international knowledge, expertise and experience and fluent in English together with a good reputation in the national and international Financial Crime field. He holds an MBA from The Open University Business School and is certified as CAMS-RM, CAMS-Audit, CAMS, CGSS, CAMS-FCI, CAFS, CFE and CFCS. 

He worked in different operational and managerial roles within Financial Crime covering all areas such as AML, CTF, Fraud, Sanctions and ABC as well as KYC/CDD, KYE, Cross-Border Compliance, International Information Sharing, FATCA and other Compliance topics. Within these areas he covered both operational activities such as Procedures, Trainings, Monitoring, Screening and Controls as well as strategic activities as Risk Assessments, Policies, Projects and Framework build-ups within an ever changing local and global regulatory environment. Holger also investigated large, complex and international Money Laundering, Sanctions, Corruption and Fraud cases and identified suspicious activity and weak controls, processes, manuals and policies. Within his activities he offered pragmatic solutions to minimize Financial Crime and Regulatory Risk. 

He is also a recognized SME for Financial Crime heading the ACAMS Germany Chapter which he also founded, giving a wide range of trainings and acts as a speaker on conferences and symposiums both national and international.

With 15 years of experience leading compliance, sanctions and foreign trade controls, business ethics, and industry governance, I am a seasoned expert in my field.

Over the past decade, I have honed my skills within the shipping industry, gaining extensive experience in sanctions compliance. My legal background, coupled with an astute ability for critical thinking, enables me to navigate complex regulatory landscapes effectively.

Strong ethics and values are at the forefront of my goals, guiding my approach to establishing and maintaining robust and sustainable compliance frameworks. My commitment to integrity and excellence ensures that I cultivate positive and mutually beneficial business relationships, fostering a culture of compliance and ethical business practices.

Senior executive/lawyer responsible Global Trade function. Over two decades of experience specializing in export controls, economic sanctions, trade policy and strategy, anti-corruption, and national security-related laws and regulations.

Damien is an expert in change management, compliance program development and deployment; operational compliance and transactional analysis; audits and assessments; internal investigations and other enforcement matters, voluntary disclosures, and corrective actions programs.

My many years in the fields of academia, international cooperation in highly politicized environments support this expertise, and consolidate a cross-cultural working culture to create bridges between people. My more than 20 years of experience (EU Commission, National Public Development Agencies, UNDP) in various countries from Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa in the field of Guvernance, the fight against corruption, and the fight against organized crime, enrich my corporate culture, and help me in understanding global challenges.