Samantha Sheen

Samantha Sheen is a financial crime prevention professional with over fifteen years of practical experience in compliance. Sam's previous work experience includes working as MLRO, Data Protection Officer, Chief Compliance Officer and Group Head of AML for various financial institutions in Europe.

Sam worked offshore for several years as the first legal counsel to the financial regulator in Guernsey, heading up enforcement actions and the creation of its dedicated financial crime division. Her role included working with regulators from other jurisdictions in the investigation of complex offshore financial crime. She continues to maintain ongoing engagement with other regulators on a variety of subjects matters, including the transposition of Pan-European regulations and guidance related to financial crime prevention.

Sam has extensive training experience in the field of financial crime prevention and corporate governance matters. She has most recently been involved in projects related to FinTechs, the use of RegTech and other innovative technology to mitigate financial crime.  Sam’s focus in this area is on the operationalisation of regulatory requirements and their alignment to the control environment.

Sam is a regulator speaker, moderator and writer on various topics related to financial crime with a focus on tactics used by illicit actors to launder the proceeds of crime. Sam most recently worked with ACAMS Europe as its inaugural AML Director and was instrumental in the development of training content and raising awareness around financial crime prevention challenges in Europe. 

Originally from Montreal, Quebec Canada, Sam holds a Bachelor’s in Public Administration, a Law Degree, qualified as a barrister and solicitor in Canada and as a solicitor in NSW Australia and holds her Master’s in Business, specialising in risk management. She most recently completed a certificate with the London School of Economics on Data Analytics.