Anti-money laundering · Sanctions · Anti-corruption

Financial crime is a board-level liability.

Sven Stumbauer advises boards, executives and compliance leaders on what regulators expect, where enforcement is heading, and what directors need to ask before it reaches them.

Request a briefing 10 questions for your board

Independent monitor and consultant in U.S. enforcement actions
Former NASD (now FINRA) examiner
Guest speaker, Harvard Kennedy School and Tecnológico de Monterrey’s EGADE Business School

20+years in financial crime, regulatory risk and investigations

150+financial institutions and businesses advised

60+countries across the Americas, Europe and Asia

Advisory

How he advises

Board and executive briefings

Briefings on the financial crime, sanctions and enforcement risks facing the institution, and the questions directors should ask. In English or Spanish.

Independent review and testing

Independent testing, risk assessments and program reviews across anti-money laundering, sanctions and anti-corruption, built to stand up to regulators, auditors and correspondent banks.

Enforcement, remediation and monitorships

Support through regulatory investigations, remediation programs and independent monitorships, drawing on direct work with U.S. and foreign authorities.

Representative work

Ran the monitor liaison office for a global cryptocurrency exchange operating under concurrent U.S. Department of Justice and FinCEN monitorships following a $4.3 billion settlement
Interim chief compliance officer for a global financial institution, setting its anti-money laundering and sanctions strategy and leading implementation
Independent sanctions transaction look-back across more than 20 jurisdictions for an Asian-headquartered financial institution, one of the world’s five largest, demonstrating no sanctions violations
Engaged by an SEC-appointed independent monitor to review the anti-money laundering and sanctions program of one of the largest U.S. broker-dealers
Investigation for one of the largest Swiss-headquartered financial institutions into account relationships under the terms of its settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice
Internal review for a global U.S.-headquartered bank following a Department of Justice inquiry into alleged laundering by institutional clients; all regulatory mandates were lifted and no fine was imposed

More representative work

About

Former examiner. Global practice leader. Independent monitor.

Sven Stumbauer is a Partner at Forward Global and leads its Americas anti-money laundering and sanctions practice.

He began his career examining broker-dealers for the NASD (now FINRA), went on to build and lead global anti-money laundering and sanctions practices at international consulting and law firms, and most recently ran the monitor liaison office of a global cryptocurrency exchange. He has advised banks, crypto and digital asset firms, fintechs and multinationals in the United States and more than sixty countries.

Full biography

In brief

Partner, Forward Global
Former NASD (now FINRA) examiner
Built and led global anti-money laundering and sanctions practices at international consulting and law firms
Interim chief compliance officer of a global financial institution
Monitor liaison lead for a global cryptocurrency exchange under U.S. monitorship
Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS)

New book · Publishes January 26, 2027

Cartels Designated as Terrorists

The U.S. designation of cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations turned money laundering exposure into potential terrorism liability for banks, fintechs and corporates. The book sets out what changed and what executives and boards should do, with a briefing for leadership at the end of every chapter.

Also by Sven: The Next Wave of Global Anti-Money Laundering Enforcement (Palgrave Macmillan).

About the book All books

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