Episode 81 with Donald Day and Philippa Allen 🎧 In this episode of Regulatory Ramblings, we explore two timely and insightful conversations on the evolving regulatory landscape in Asia - from digital assets in Hong Kong to compliance challenges in Singapore and beyond. These discussions highlight how innovation, geopolitics, and risk are reshaping financial services across the region. Donald Day on Hong Kong’s Digital Asset Regulation Donald Day, COO of a Hong Kong-based digital a...

Episode 80 with M. Konrad Borowicz, Syed Musheer Ahmed and Monica Jasuja 🎧 In this episode of Regulatory Ramblings, we explore two transformative conversations shaping the future of global payments. From Swift’s bold move into tokenized finance to the legal complexities of cross-border payment systems, this episode dives deep into the forces redefining financial infrastructure. Segment 1: Is Swift Breaking the Wall Between Traditional Finance and DeFi? Swift - the backbone of internat...

Episode 79 with Stanley Foodman and Viktoria Soltesz 🎧 In this episode of Regulatory Ramblings, we explore two critical conversations shaping the financial and compliance landscape. Part 1: Viktoria Soltesz on Banking Flows and Payments We kick off with Viktoria Soltesz, founder of PSP Angels and the Soltesz Institute, who explains why businesses must understand banking flows to perform proper due diligence (2:37). Viktoria challenges the notion that blockchain and crypto are the ultima...

Episode 78 with Oonagh van den Berg, Prof. Peter Reuter, and Dr. Mirko Nazzari 🎧 In this episode, returning guest and compliance expert Oonagh van den Berg discusses why current AI regulation approaches fall short, based on her LinkedIn article, “Rethinking AI Regulation: Why Current Approaches Are Falling Short.” She highlights the limitations of fragmented national laws, the need for a global AI rulebook, and the role of public education in shifting from blind trust to informed verifi...

Episode 77 with Lotte Schou Zibell, Ian Morrison, and Raoul Montgomery 🎧 In this episode, veteran international expert on financial sector development & digital transformation Lotte Schou-Zibell unpacks why correspondent banking links have thinned in smaller markets - and why the fix isn’t “more rules” but smarter, cheaper, more consistent compliance built on shared digital public infrastructure: foundational ID, tiered KYC, interoperable payment rails, straight-through reporting, and uti...

Episode 75 with Joshua Chu, Syed Musheer Ahmed and Sean Lee 🎧 The common theme for this episode is FinTech and Web3 writ large – with an eye towards digital assets and virtual currency. In Spotlight segment, we’ll be speaking with a returning guest and a dear friend of the program – Syed Musheer Ahmed of Hong Kong-based FinStep Asia on the recently disseminated the “Hong Kong Web3 Blueprint: Building a Web 3 International Financial Hub” report. Joining Musheer is Sean Lee, co-lead of We...

Episode 75 with David Cameron, Syed Musheer Ahmed and Joshua Chu 🎧 This episode of Regulatory Ramblings takes a deep dive into the current state of Hong Kong’s startup environment - exploring how conducive the city’s legal, commercial, and policy infrastructure is for startups to not only launch, but also to scale. We begin with a spotlight conversation featuring David Cameron, a veteran American lawyer and founder of the Hong Kong-based firm DCLO. Drawing on over 16 years of experience...

Episode #74 with Tram Anh Nguyen and Professor Marc I. Steinberg 🎧 In this episode, we feature two conversations exploring different frontiers of finance and technology. In our opening spotlight, we welcome back Marc Steinberg, professor at Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law and a leading voice in securities and corporate law. His latest book, Corporate Director and Officer Liability: Discretionary, Not Fiduciary (Oxford University Press), challenges the long-standing view t...

Episode #73 with Christopher Cottrell, Richard Butler and Haider Mannan 🎧 This episode of Regulatory Ramblings explores how shifting geopolitics is reshaping regulation, investment, and compliance across Asia. In the first segment, veteran Indo-Pacific journalist Christopher Cottrell joins us from Thailand to discuss rising political tensions following the July 1 suspension of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. Cottrell reflects on the country’s fragile democratic institutions, the ...

Ep #72 with Ritu Bhasin and Jeiz Robles 🎧 At a time when DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) efforts are being challenged in parts of the world, our guests in this episode make a compelling case for why inclusion still matters - and how it must adapt to remain relevant. Through two rich, regionally grounded conversations, this episode explores how DEI is not just a moral imperative, but also a strategic investment in building workplaces - and societies - where people can truly thrive...

Episode #71 with Joshua Chu, Melizza Anievas, and Lucas Har 🎧 In this episode, we explore the intersecting challenges of financial regulation, geopolitics, and the evolving crypto landscape. The initial Spotlight segment features Lucas Har (Risk & Compliance Product Manager, Dow Jones), joining us from Singapore to discuss the shifting dynamics of trade compliance, export controls, and sanctions—especially amid escalating US-China tensions. Lucas outlines how fragmented global trade ...

Episode #70 with Mark Nuttal and Steve Vickers 🎧 In this episode of Regulatory Ramblings, two distinguished guests offer rare, experience-based insights into the global forces shaping today’s regulatory, security, and compliance environments. The first segment features Steve Vickers, former head of the Criminal Intelligence Bureau of what was then the Royal Hong Kong Police Force and now CEO of Steve Vickers & Associates. He delivers a stark assessment of the geopolitical risks acr...

Episode #69 with Nigel Morris-Cotterill and Patrick Dransfield 🎧 In this two-part episode of Regulatory Ramblings, host Ajay Shamdasani is joined by two seasoned professionals who examine artificial intelligence from very different, yet deeply complementary angles: cultural, philosophical, and ethical on one hand; legal, compliance, and technical on the other. The result is a wide-ranging, thought-provoking conversation about the role of human intelligence in an increasingly automated w...

Episode #68 with Chad Olsen and Mark Nuttal 🎧 In a world where politics and regulation intersect, compliance and legal professionals can no longer afford to ignore geopolitical risk. From the fallout of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan to Russia’s war in Ukraine, the global regulatory landscape has been reshaped by conflict, sanctions, inflation, and cross-border disruption. In this episode, host Ajay Shamdasani speaks with two experts who explain why understanding geostrategy is n...

Episode #67 with Nigel Morris-Cotterill, Oonagh van den Berg and Malcolm Nance In this episode of Regulatory Ramblings, the panel tackles the Trump administration’s controversial move to suspend enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA)—a key anti-money laundering (AML) initiative passed under the Biden administration. The decision, announced by the U.S. Treasury Department in early March, stated that it would halt all penalties and fines associated with beneficial ownership informa...

Episode #66 with Henri Arslanian (Nine Blocks Capital Management) and Andrew Fei (King & Wood Mallesons) This episode opens with Andrew Fei discussing recent US crypto regulatory developments. Then, Henri Arslanian, a leading voice in global crypto circles, shares his insights on the Trump administration’s decision to establish a cryptocurrency strategic reserve made up of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and Cardano. “This really may start paving the way for other countries to look at pot...

Episode #65 with Tom Fox & Malcolm Nance, plus Philip Rohlik This episode is devoted to discussing the recent executive order signed by US President Donald J. Trump instructing the Department of Justice to halt enforcement of the decades old, much-dreaded Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) pending a one-year review. In our initial “Regulatory Ramblings Spotlight” segment, we speak with Philip Rohlik, an American attorney in mainland China with the law firm Debevoise & Plimpton...

With guests Dr. Inna Amesheva (ESG Book) and Janet Ledger (Commuity Business) In time for International Women’s Day on March 8th, Dr. Inna Amesheva and Janet Ledger explore the evolving role of ESG in regulation and inclusion. Dr. Amesheva, Head of ESG Regulatory Solutions at ESG Book, examines Europe’s push to simplify ESG rules, while Janet Ledger, CEO of Community Business, highlights how ESG drives diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) despite growing political backlash. As companies n...

With guests Raoul Montgomery, Kirsty Crean, and Brian Cheung As the theme of this episode is compliance, we first hear from Raoul Montgomery and Kirsty Crean of executive search and recruitment firm Arion House in Hong Kong about hiring trends in the legal and compliance space post-Chinese New Year. Hiring in Compliance & Legal: What’s Driving the Surge in 2025? Raoul & Kirsty share the areas in which the financial sector is hiring – with insurance and crypto-compliance being ke...

With guests Dr. Oriol Caudevilla and Skip Schiphorst The Green Belt and Road Initiative. Much has been said about the BRI, known in China as the One Belt One Road – and sometimes labelled the New Silk Road. A global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in more than 150 countries and international organizations, the scheme is composed of six urban development land corridors linked by road, rail, energy, and digital infrastructure, and the Mari...