About

Zia is a partner specialising in financial crime, with specific experience in international Sanctions, AML and ABC. Zia advises on all aspects of financial crime compliance and was previously the global head of Sanctions at Barclays. Zia is an FCA approved ‘Skilled Person’ for Financial Crime.

His relevant skills and experience includes:

• FCA approved Skilled Person on a large scale s.166 review of AML and sanctions compliance at the London HQ of an international bank.
• acting on behalf of Barclays bank in reported case of Hmicho v Barclays bank- the lead case on ownership and control in relation to EU and UK sanctions.
• providing AML and Sanctions training to the BBA, Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Group, Allied Irish Banks, Clydesdale bank, VTB Capital and Bank of Ireland.

Zia is recognised by Chambers and Partners as a “Leader in the Field” of corporate crime and investigations. Chambers says that: “Impressed sources say he gets solutions for clients before problems start.” He is also rated as “approachable” and “going the extra mile for clients” in the Legal 500. Zia was the 2015 winner of the Compliance Register award for ‘Best Financial Crime Consultant’.

Zia is a regular speaker at a number of financial services industry bodies including the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), the Anti-Money Laundering Professionals Forum, the Association of Certified AML Specialists, and International Association of Money Transfer Networks. Zia has also written numerous articles on Sanctions, AML and ABC compliance for industry publications such as Complinet and Thomson Reuters Accelus and has also appeared on BBC radio and TV.

Zia is also chair of the advisory board at MyComplianceiq.com, a specialist compliance e-learning portal, assisting the team with the formulation of their syllabus.