Sudheesh Nambiath

Faisal Ahmed

Faisal Ahmed is the founder and Managing Partner of AKW Consultants. With over 25 years of international experience, he leads the firm’s strategic vision, bringing clarity and precision to advisory when the stakes are high.

A Chartered Accountant by qualification, Faisal built his expertise at KPMG and PwC UK, where he spent 14 years advising global institutions on financial crime compliance, audit, and regulatory strategy. He later joined HSBC as Director and Global Head of Client Due Diligence for AML Compliance, overseeing complex risk programmes across multiple jurisdictions.

Faisal has advised organisations in over 50 countries across multiple industries, including banking, precious metals, real estate, and digital assets. His experience spans end-to-end regulatory frameworks, anti-financial crime systems, responsible sourcing, ESG design, and cross-border restructuring, delivering solutions that combine strategic insight with practical implementation.

He is an accredited auditor with the UAE Ministry of Economy, a reviewer of the UAE Good Delivery program, and a Court Expert in gold sector compliance, recognised by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He has also been an Expert Trainer at the Institute of Banking Studies in Kuwait, the London Institute of Banking and Finance, the ADGM Academy, and the DMCC Responsible Sourcing Training programme for the precious metals sector, where he delivered over 500 institutional training courses to regulators, investigators, and corporate leaders across the globe.

Mkhululi Ncube

Mkhululi Nkosilamandla Ncube is the Programmes Officer at the African Minerals Development Centre (AMDC), a specialized agency of the African Union. In this role, he provides strategic operational support and coordination for the implementation of the Africa Mining Vision and its Action Plan, as well as the minerals segment of the Africa Commodity Strategy. 

Muhammad Shafi

Muhammad Shafi is the Acting Head of AML Supervision in the AML Unit of the Ministry of Economy, UAE. He is an experienced financial crime compliance professional with more than 15 years of progressive experience in AML/CFT domain in private and public sectors. Muhammad is certified by ACAMS and ICA and currently pursuing his PhD with focus on AML/CFT. Muhammad’s expertise includes implementing AML/CFT and Sanctions Compliance framework in the private sector and executing supervisory engagement plans in DNFBPs sector in the public sector.