2026 Agenda

Geopolitics have always driven sanctions. From the Former Soviet Union to South Africa, sanctions policy has often pivoted on key world issues. Today, modern geopolitics continue to shaple the sanctions sphere. Divergences in policies and priorities between the US, Europe and other key trade partners like China, have tested our resolve as compliance professionals.

In this session, experts will explore the latest trade tensions between China, US and EU, how to integrate new geopolitical risks in your compliance program, and how to manage newly evolving new sanctions, supply chain disruptions and enforcement risks.

As of 2026, the shadow fleet has evolved into a global network that serves several sanctioned regimes, including Russia, Iran and Venezuela. Beyond oil, the shadow model is used for ""dry commonities"" such as grains, coal, mineral and fertilisers, where origins must be obscured to bypass sanctions or export controls. So, how can you as a compliance professional operationalise these risks into your compliance programme?

This session includes an interactive explanation of how to effectively detect dark fleet risk in a compliance scenario. Our experts will walk-you-through a common set of facts, the best practices and actions to take in such a scenario, and what the regulators would expect to see. We will cover topics like AIS monitoring, the ""No Russia"" Clause and practical hurdles in implementing and auditing dark fleet related requirements in energy and other services contracts.

Join us for our first government panel, highlighting representatives and agents who work on ""enforcement and investigations"" cases.

Our speakers will discuss, among other things: New Taskforces, the EU Directive on Harmonisation as well as the new SIEP (a secure EU sanctions information exchange tool managed by FISMA). National Competent Authorities (NCAs), including FIUs, will discuss how they obtain and share data on frozen assets, risky ownership structures, and suspected circumvention with other authorities. With EU national competent authorities now better collaborating on enforcement: what does this mean for your next audit?

Back by popular demand – the ACSS Conference Break-Out Round Tables! Ask practical questions and problem-solve with your peers in two back-to-back sessions of 40 minutes each. Attendees simply join their roundtable of choice, where they can engage in an informal discussion and benefit from a topic-specific networking opportunity. These roundtables will take place on Day 1 and Day 2 of the Conference, enabling attendees to choose four topics in total over two days.

A- China, China, China: Semiconductors, Tariffs, Countersanctions and More

Speakers: Nicolas Burnichon | BDW   Francesco Candeago |Airbus

B- Licenses: Tips, Challenges and Best Practices

C- Beyond Name Screening: Practical Screening of Products and Services

D- The Impact of US Extraterritorial Sanctions and Export Controls on EU Companies

E- The Crypto/Fin-Tech Lockdown: Expanded EU bans on crypto and FIs operating in Russia

F- Spotlight on End Use/End User Risk

G- Beyond Red Flags: Operationalising Circumvention Detection in a Bank Setting

H- The AMLA Single Rulebook: Integrating Sanctions into the AML Framework

I - Legal Grey Zones: Conflict of Laws, Breach of Contract, Sanctions Clauses

J- Iran, Syria and Other Middle East Related Sanctions

K- Leveraging OSINT to Determine Beneficial Ownership: Best Practices and Pitfalls.

L- Export Controls: How To Avoid Item Misclassification and Other Risks

In this scenario-based interactive workshop, attendees are divided into teams and presented with a scenario in which a client is an EU designated entity. After being presented with the ""Initial Incident Report”, the teams are given time to discuss and draft their initial strategy, a self-disclosure (or not) recommendation, and three immediate remediation steps. Once ready, Teams will have the opportunity to present their strategy to a ""Simulated Regulator Panel"" with speakers playing the role of EU National Competent Authorities, FIU, EBA or OFAC.

Join us as attendees receive valuable and practical feedback on their proposed strategy in real time!

Think you have the Sanctions Guru knowledge it takes to win? Participate in our European-focused trivia game to test your real-world knowledge of sanctions regulations, export controls, and key lessons learned from enforcement cases in a fun and interactive format. But you better be quick or someone will beat you to it!

Amazing prizes to be won for those who win. So don't miss out!

This session brings together high level government policy experts who will define the regulatory focus and enforcement landscape for 2027 and beyond. With the EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) now fully operational as the central pillar of European oversight and DG FISMA hardening the EU strategic autonomy, the next level of EU sanctions and enforcement is coming!

This is a rare opportunity to hear directly from the leaders shaping the rules of the new geopolitical economy and how they are aligning their arsenals to eliminate jurisdictional arbitrage.

2026 has seen Regulators take a sterner eye towards lawyers, accountants, trust providers, and other ""enablers"" that may facilitate sanctions violations. This is highlighted by the EU's 19th Sanctions Package’s landmark listing of Maxima Legal -- the first law firm targeted with freezing sanctions. Also, with the full transposition of EU Directive 2024/1226, the ""serious negligence"" standard is now applicable to some trade compliance violations.
This panel will examine the end of professional immunity, including national law examples such as Cyprus Law 149(I)/2025, which criminalises indirect assistance and beneficial ownership concealment, EPPO’s 2026 surge in targeting accounting networks, and the end of the ""willful blindness"" era. Our panel will delve into the specific ""professional standards"" NCAs expect from non-financial businesses, the common mistakes we see in compliance programs that lead to enforcement, and what role financial institutions play in bank-rolling these enablers.

The topic of the debate-style session is whether the EU is making a mistake by copying U.S.-style "extraterritoriality or not. We have two speakers with oppoing views who will open the debate. Then you are invited to come on stage! We will place one chair in the center empty. Anyone from the audience can come up and sit in that empty chair to ask a question to the panel or make a point, then return to their seat to let someone else join.

Back by popular demand – the ACSS Conference Break-Out Round Tables! Ask practical questions and problem-solve with your peers in two back-to-back sessions of 40 minutes each. Attendees simply join their roundtable of choice, where they can engage in an informal discussion and benefit from a topic-specific networking opportunity. These roundtables will take place on Day 1 and Day 2 of the Conference, enabling attendees to choose four topics in total over two days.

A- China, China, China: Semiconductors, Tariffs, Countersanctions and More

Speakers: Nicolas Burnichon | BDW   Francesco Candeago |Airbus

B- Licenses: Tips, Challenges and Best Practices

C- Beyond Name Screening: Practical Screening of Products and Services

D- The Impact of US Extraterritorial Sanctions and Export Controls on EU Companies

E- The Crypto/Fin-Tech Lockdown: Expanded EU bans on crypto and FIs operating in Russia

F- Spotlight on End Use/End User Risk

G- Beyond Red Flags: Operationalising Circumvention Detection in a Bank Setting

H- The AMLA Single Rulebook: Integrating Sanctions into the AML Framework

I - Legal Grey Zones: Conflict of Laws, Breach of Contract, Sanctions Clauses

J- Iran, Syria and Other Middle East Related Sanctions

K- Leveraging OSINT to Determine Beneficial Ownership: Best Practices and Pitfalls.

L- Export Controls: How To Avoid Item Misclassification and Other Risks

Join us as we acknowledge some of the outstanding members of our Community.

Artificial Intelligence and its potential impacts on the future of compliane checks and screening has been at the forefront of the sanctions and export controls community for several years now. But how does a compliance suite truly apply this new technology and how can AI agents interface with human review and input?

In this unique session, our speakers will dive into a real-world example of use of AI agents and discuss: how this can be done efficiently without compromising accuracy; when a company shoud consider implementing AI and how deep should you go; as well as how the human element comes into play after AI is incorporated into your sanctions compliance program.