Mara WESSELING
Senior Financial Crime Expert
44 years old
Lille France
Professional Status
Employed
Open to opportunities
About Me
I’m a Senior Financial Crime expert with a PhD in Political Science focusing especially on combating the financing of terrorism, risk and effectiveness.
Well-versed in both academic and professional (qualitative) research methodologies, I am a critical thinker, with strong analytical skills.
My research background (10+ years) has given me a unique and comprehensive insight in the ever-evolving financial crime landscape and the international efforts of public and private stakeholders to fight financial crime.
Well-versed in both academic and professional (qualitative) research methodologies, I am a critical thinker, with strong analytical skills.
My research background (10+ years) has given me a unique and comprehensive insight in the ever-evolving financial crime landscape and the international efforts of public and private stakeholders to fight financial crime.
President and Founder
WES Consulting
2017
to May 2022
- Providing independent research, training and advice on financial crime and AML-CFT policies for public and private clients.
- Key areas of interest include: risk identification and mitigation, assessing effectiveness, public-private cooperation, the use of ethical AI and technology for AML/CFT, terrorism financing.
- 2-year CFT policy evaluation for Dutch Ministries of Finance and Justice.
- Expert consultant for two AML/CFT studies for the European Commission.
- In-house training and consulting for banks, compliance start-ups, money transfer services, trust companies, gambling sector, public sector...
- Technical assistance commissioned by the Council of Europe for projects on regulating Virtual Asset Service Providers in Ukraine and Serbia.
- Research and reporting on de-risking of Non-Profits and emerging tech (AI, ML) commissioned by the ECNL.
Detailed Description
- 2022
• Research into emerging tech and de-risking of the Non Profit Sector
• Research and podcast on the funding of Right Wing Extremism
• Development online AML/CFT Course - 2021
• Consulting for ABN/AMRO, FMO, FEC
• Research for RUSI on EU legal package
• Compliance training and manual for Brazilian Sports Gambling Platform - 2020
• Member of the Supervisory Board for the Dutch Counter Terrorism Strategy Evaluation. - 2019
• Member of the Supervisory Board for the Dutch National Risk Assessment.
• Invited as speaker at multiple international conferences (i.a. ACAMS Berlin, Cambridge Symposium on Economic Crime, Financial Intelligence Sharing Initiative) - 2018
• Invited by the Dutch Financial Crimes Unit (FIOD) and the US IRS to present research.
• Invited as speaker to the Dutch National Anti-Money Laundering Day. - 2017
• Invited as expert for a hearing on CFT by the Financial Affairs Committee of the Dutch Parliament.
• Invited by the Terrorism Finance Task Force to present research.
Company Description
WES Consulting helps governments and private companies to assess and mitigate the organizational risks of threat finance by providing research, consulting and expertise based on in-depth knowledge and evidence-based research. My areas of expertise include:
• Anti-money laundering (AML)
• Combating terrorism financing (CFT)
• Mitigating the organizational impact of terrorism financing through risk-based approaches
• International and European security policies
• Intelligence-led analysis of financial data and smart software
• Anti-money laundering (AML)
• Combating terrorism financing (CFT)
• Mitigating the organizational impact of terrorism financing through risk-based approaches
• International and European security policies
• Intelligence-led analysis of financial data and smart software
