Sentient International’s Head of Compliance to Speak at the Countering Financial Crime Conference 2026

We are proud to announce that our Head of Compliance, Sarah Smythe, will be speaking at the Isle of Man’s Countering Financial Crime Conference 2026 next month.

Sarah will be joining the panel ‘Beyond the Country Lists: Ticking the Box or Understanding the Risk?’, where she and her fellow panellists will break down why compliance frameworks that are built solely around jurisdictional risk lists can create a sense of false security, and why genuine risk understanding requires us to look beyond geography to the substance of a relationship, structure or transaction.

Organised by the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority in conjunction with Island agencies including the Financial Crime Partnership, the Government’s AML Policy Office, the Financial Intelligence Unit and the Isle of Man Constabulary, the event will bring together practitioners, regulators and international experts to discuss the best practice in countering money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing. The event also forms part of the Islands preparations for its upcoming MONEYVAL evaluation.

“A country list tells you where a jurisdiction sits in someone else’s ranking. It doesn’t tell you where the risk actually lives in the structure in front of you. Real risk assessment starts where the list ends, forming your own view and being able to explain it”

— Sarah Smythe, Head of Compliance

Sarah’s participation reflects Sentient International’s ongoing commitment to strengthening compliance standards across the corporate and fiduciary services sector, and its continued engagement with the Isle of Man’s wider financial crime prevention community.

Learn more about the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority here.

You can also register for the Countering Financial Crime event here.

Contact the team to learn more via info@sentientinternational.com or phone +44 1624 616544