Self-proclaimed “Chief Loophole Officer” Andrew Fastow to Speak in Singapore

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Sarah Hofmann
ACFE Public Relations Specialist

More than 250 anti-fraud professionals from around the Asia-Pacific region will gather for the 2015 ACFE Asia-Pacific Fraud Conference at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, 4-6 November, to listen to leaders in the anti-fraud field, along with an unlikely special guest: a convicted fraudster.

Playing a central part in one of the most notorious corporate fraud cases in history, Andrew Fastow*, former CFO of Enron Corp., will address the very people trying to catch fraudsters like him. Fastow will explain his role the energy giant’s collapse, which resulted in a $40 billion lawsuit and the world’s largest bankruptcy at that point. He will give attendees insight into the red flags that were ignored at Enron, and how his life was affected after being convicted.

Attendees will also hear from keynote speakers including:

• James D. Ratley, CFE, ACFE President and CEO, U.S.
  In 1971, Ratley joined the Dallas Police Department as a police officer. He was a member of numerous department task forces that concentrated on major fraud cases. In 1986, Ratley left the police department to join Wells & Associates, where he was in charge of fraud investigations. Ratley has been selected as one of Security magazine's "Most Influential Security Executives for 2010" and Accounting Today's "Top 100 Most Influential People."
• Barry Wong, Vice President, Head of Asia-Pacific, Customer Fraud Management, MasterCard Worldwide, Hong Kong
  Wong is responsible for spearheading the coordinated deployment of anti-fraud solutions to help MasterCard customer financial institutions manage fraud risks and enhance their fraud mitigation controls. He works closely with law enforcement agencies to combat payment card crime as well as with government institutions to provide support for legislation and fraud strategies against card fraud and data protection.
• Christophe Durand, Head of Cyber Strategy, Interpol, Singapore
  Durand is a Police Senior Superintendent, seconded from the French Judicial Police to INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation (IGCI), Singapore. Durand is the organization’s central point of contact for cyber strategy. He has accumulated more than 20 years of experience at the confluence of organised crime especially through financial approach (money laundering, international fraud) and IT issues (digital forensics, cybercrime). 
• Gunawan Husin, MBCI, CBCP, CAMS, Principal Consultant, Continuum Asia PTE LTD, Singapore
  Husin has more than 21 years of international experience in banking with a main focus on disaster recovery, crisis management, corporate security and financial crime compliance (anti-fraud, anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism). Prior to his current role, he led the risk control and oversight of global security and investigations, global resiliency and crisis management for JPMorgan Chase Bank in the Asia-Pacific region.

Breakout sessions will include discussions about money laundering, the FIFA scandal and how to use advanced analytics to catch fraud before it is able to grow.

Special pricing for early registration is available until October 2, 2015. Visit ACFE.com/AsiaPac for more information.

*The ACFE does not compensate convicted fraudsters.

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Partners with the ACFE to Root Out Fraud and Corruption

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Ganesh Thuraisingham
ACFE Partnership Manager – Asia-Pacific Region

Last month, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) announced its plans to collaborate with the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) by joining the Law Enforcement and Government Partnership (LEGP) and certifying more than 400 MACC investigations officers with the CFE credential.

"To improve the knowledge and skills of our investigation officers in the operations section, in detecting corrupt practices, we will be cooperating with the ACFE," said MACC chief commissioner, Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed. He said corruption did not only involve accepting or giving bribes in the form of cash, but also covered other forms like fraudulent managing of accounts, which was difficult to detect roughly. "With such an accreditation program [the Certified Fraud Examiner credential], our investigation officers will be able to enhance their capability in identifying corrupt practices including wrongdoings related to taxes and claims."

MACC Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed and ACFE Faculty Member Allen Brown.

In the article, “MACC Seeks to be on Par with FBI” in the New Straits Times, MACC special adviser to the chief commissioner and head of forensics Datuk I.G. Chandran said the program was part of MACC's effort to move from witness-based probes to document-based probes. "As cases become more complex, we can no longer rely on witness statements. We need to have an understanding of financial documents to find evidence of graft, which can be well-hidden."

As the newly appointed Asia-Pacific Partnership Manager for the ACFE, I had the pleasure of sitting alongside Abu Kassim in Kuala Lumpur as he made his announcement at a press conference held at the International Internal Auditor’s Malaysia Corporate Fraud Conference. This type of partnership is something I am excited to be a part of and I hope to see more Asian law enforcement and government agencies step up to provide first-rate anti-fraud training to key staff in the future.

Although I have some background in auditing, I am understanding more and more about the fight against fraud. Last month, I also attended the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists' Asia-Pacific conference in Kuala Lumpur. I met with attendees of all different levels. It was interesting to hear from many about what they thought of the ACFE. To my surprise, not only were attendees familiar with the ACFE, they expressed how it is a well-respected professional organisation. Our recent event in Singapore, “Using Data Analytics to Detect Fraud,” was our largest 2-day course held outside of the U.S. with more than 90 participants, half of whom were not previously members of the ACFE.

To expand its international presence, the ACFE has come up with a variety of resources and events for members outside the U.S., which is constantly being reviewed and enhanced. For 2014, the ACFE has put together six 2-day seminars in Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as the 2014 ACFE Asia-Pacific Fraud Conference in Hong Kong this November. Due to the success of the courses held in the first part of the year, we are already planning more events in the region for 2015. These are just a few things which the ACFE is currently doing to support the growth in the region (and don’t forget they hired me as its Partnership Manager). 

Speakers Announced for ACFE Asia-Pacific Fraud Conference

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Kevin Taparauskas, CFE

ACFE Director of Marketing and Events

For me, weekends in the fall are hallowed ground. To pull me away from my beloved Texas Longhorn football games (that’s American football for you folks across the pond) and tailgates, it takes something truly big. 

That “big something” this October is the first-ever ACFE Asia-Pacific Fraud Conference that I will be attending. The Asia-Pacific region has been one of our fastest-growing areas for the last several years, and we felt it was important to have a more visible presence there. We have a very enthusiastic chapter in Singapore and decided to make it the home for this inaugural conference.

The program is now complete, and it is a good one. Allan Bachman, the ACFE Education Manager, has worked hard to include a diverse group of speakers from within the region as well as outside of it.  

A few highlights are:

Aedit Abdullah – Singapore established a new Economic Crimes and Governance Division in January 2011. Abdullah was selected to lead this division created to combat financial crimes.

Cynthia Hetherington – Consistently one of the ACFE’s highest-rated faculty members, Hetherington led this same session at the ACFE Annual Fraud Conference and Exhibition in San Diego in June to a standing room only Pre-Conference group of more than 400.

James D. Ratley – Jim really wanted to speak at this event (as well as at several other stops on his trip) to meet members and get a first-hand view of the challenges unique to this region.

Mark Steward – Steward leads the enforcement division for the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission. We’ll get to hear about the breaking securities fraud schemes and developments on insider trading and other market manipulations.

You can find the full lineup here.

The city and Marina Bay Sands hotel both look amazing, and I can’t wait to go – even if I have to miss a football game or two (Can I get ESPN over there?). If you will be attending the conference as well, please drop me a line. I would love to hear from you.