ACADEMIC PROGRAM
Legal track #1 | Session 6 - Emerging Markets: Navigating International Sanctions and Trade Restrictions
DATE & TIME
LOCATION
🗓️ Thursday, August 28
🕐 11:30-12:30 EDT
📍 Waldorf Astoria
DESCRIPTION
This session will dissect the risks and challenges faced by businesses providing finance in emerging markets, and the next generation of lawyers advising them. Those businesses often face an uphill task to comply with international sanctions regimes and Anti-Money Laundering regulations. We will discuss how they can navigate local and international regulatory frameworks and manage risk effectively, particularly when dealing with fraud and corruption in emerging markets, Politically Exposed Persons and politically unstable regions, as well as complex financial and corporate structures. The panel will also examine trade restrictions and the ethical and reputational challenges associated with large-scale infrastructure projects, such as transport, housing and energy projects, which can have a major impact on local communities and the environment.
SPEAKERS
Dr. Roberto Echandi
Worldbank, USA
Roberto Echandi is a Global Trade Specialist in the Trade Unit of the Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment Global Practice of the World Bank Group (WBG). From this position, his current work program focuses on research and policy advice on issues related to cross border trade in services, negotiation, implementation and maximization of potential benefits of Trade Agreements. He is also member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of World Investment and Trade (JWIT), Member of the Faculty of the Academy of International Economic Law and Policy at Athens, Greece, and Adjunct Professor of the Institute of International Studies at the National University of Malaysia. He has published more than 40 international contributions on the legal and political economy dimensions of investment issues, dispute settlement, trade in services and regional economic integration. He has served as a consultant to the OECD, the WBG, UNCTAD, the Organization of American States, the Inter- American Development Bank and the WTO.
Karen Papenfuß
Germany, GSK STOCKMANN
Karen Papenfuß is salary partner at GSK Stockmann, a leading independent European law firm with over 250 lawyers and offices in Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Munich, Luxembourg, and London. She advises companies, financial institutions, and private individuals in high volume commercial and corporate disputes in litigation & arbitration proceedings, particularly in the areas of general contract law, international trade & commercial agency law, post-M&A disputes, compliance litigation, greenwashing, and ESG.
Piotr Przecherski
Poland, Europ Assistance
Piotr Przecherski is a seasoned attorney with over 20 years of experience in the insurance industry. He has primarily served as in-house counsel for a range of insurance entities, including brokers and insurers, and has also worked as an external legal advisor. Piotr specializes in insurance law and dispute resolution, with additional expertise in regulatory compliance and risk management. He has also overseen compliance functions, including matters related to international sanctions. He has successfully handled complex insurance and reinsurance disputes, including cross-border cases. Currently, he serves as legal counsel at Europ Assistance, a Generali Group company, where he has maintained a strong professional relationship for over 15 years. Piotr is a member of the Warsaw Bar Association.
Francisco Abeal
Marval O'Farrell Mairal, Argentina
Francisco Abeal is a partner of the Banking & Finance and Exchange and Capital Controls departments of Marval O’Farrell Mairal. With nearly 20 years of experience, Francisco is widely recognized for his expertise in advising financial institutions and corporate clients on complex, high-impact transactions and regulatory matters, both in Argentina and internationally. His practice focuses on banking and finance, with particular strength in regulatory compliance and structured financings. Francisco’s deep knowledge of Argentina’s foreign exchange regulations and Central Bank framework has made him a key advisor in some of the country’s most sophisticated financial and capital structures. H Francisco was a foreign associate at Bingham McCutchen LLP (now Morgan, Lewis & Bockius) in New York, and earned an LL.M. from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law in Chicago.
MODERATORS
Fernando Tafur
MME, Switzerland
Fernando Tafur is a senior associate at MME and advises domestic and international clients such as banks, financial intermediaries, exchanges, DeFi projects and token issuers on regulatory and legal matters in Switzerland.
Daniel S. Weber
Barandun, Switzerland
Daniel S. Weber is a partner at the Swiss law firm Barandun and specializes in banking and financial market law (including FinTech), internal and regulatory investigations, and white-collar crime. He advises companies, financial institutions, and private individuals on regulatory issues and complex compliance matters, including sanctions, money laundering, corruption, whistleblowing, and ESG issues. In addition, he focuses on licensing and enforcement proceedings and criminal and regulatory investigations by domestic and foreign authorities. Daniel has been ranked by various legal directories highlighting that “he is an excellent white collar crime lawyer, especially when it comes to criminal and regulatory enforcement proceedings as well as high-profile investigations”.
SESSION COORDINATORS
Adam Flacks
LK Law, UK
Fernando Tafur
MME, Switzerland
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