ACSS NY Chapter: The Weakest Link: Navigating Third-Party and Supply Chain Risk

Brad Brooks-Rubin is a partner at Arktouros pllc, a boutique law firm specializing in sanctions, anti-money laundering, and regulatory advice. Brad advises financial institutions, gold and jewelry companies, trade associations, and nonprofit organizations on sanctions, responsible business, and related issues. 

Most recently, Brad was a Senior Advisor in the Office of Sanctions Coordination at the U.S. Department of State, where he was responsible for sanctions policy coordination related to sub-Saharan Africa, Burma, the West Bank, and natural resources. Brad had re-joined State from 6.5 years as Policy Director and then Managing Director at The Sentry, an innovative civil society organization focused on  investigating and disrupting the intersection of conflict and corruption. Brad also served as the Strategic Advisor & North America Engagement Lead at the Responsible Jewellery Council in 2021-2022.

Brad has also held roles at the Gemological Institute of America (where he focused on a range of projects related to sustainable development, human rights, and compliance), the U.S. Department of State (where he focused on the Kimberley Process and conflict minerals in eastern DRC, as well as a range of sanctions issues), the Department of the Treasury (where he served as an Attorney-Advisor for the Office of Chief Counsel, Foreign Assets Control, and concentrated on sanctions issues, principally related to a range of sub-Saharan African conflicts), as well as two law firms (where he advised clients on economic sanctions, export controls, and a range of business/human rights issues).

Brad is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, where he teaches a course on the "resource curse," a Board Member of the Wildlife Justice Commission, Praeveni (which fights modern slavery and human trafficking), and We Are Family DC, as well as a music writer and DJ on a community radio station in the DC area.

Anand Sithian is a partner in Crowell & Moring’s New York office and is a member of the International Trade, White Collar & Regulatory Enforcement, and Financial Services groups.  Anand advises multinational companies, financial institutions, and companies in the digital assets, technology, and FinTech spaces on a variety of regulatory and compliance issues relating to AML, the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), and U.S. economic sanctions, including those administered by OFAC. 

Anand also represents companies and individuals in responding regulatory inquiries and grand jury investigations relating to sanctions, AML, digital assets compliance, asset forfeiture, and other white-collar matters.  Anand began his legal career at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he served as a Trial Attorney in the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS). 

Olivia is the Strategic Growth Director at Kharon, where she partners with leading organizations to navigate complex sanctions and compliance challenges. With over five years at Kharon, she has developed deep expertise in military end use (MEU), export controls, and financial crime compliance.

Before joining Kharon, Olivia specialized in due diligence, supporting financial institutions in uncovering and addressing legal, reputational, and financial risks.

Her work sits at the intersection of risk intelligence and strategic decision-making, helping clients stay ahead in an evolving regulatory landscape.

In June 2023, Howard joined Citigroup as Global Lead, Sanctions Risk: Banking, Capital Markets and Advisory, where he works with first and second line stakeholders to ensure sanctions compliance with applicable regulations, policies and procedures.

Previously, Howard was a Vice President in the Global Sanctions Compliance Department at MUFG, where he collaborated on sanctions compliance program initiatives and worked on wide-ranging projects, including risk assessments, global product reviews, and consulting on complex transactions. Prior to that, he held anti-financial crime roles at Citibank and AIG, where he provided sanctions and compliance subject-matter expertise to global stakeholders.

Before that, Spieler served in the Bloomberg administration for 10 years, with seven of those years as head of compliance at the New York City Economic Development Corporation, where he helped develop and maintain its risk-based compliance program, which included managing regulatory reporting as well as the ongoing monitoring and assessment of a $30 billion portfolio of public-private real estate transactions.

Between 2016 and June 2023 Howard served on the volunteer board of the ACAMS New York Chapter, with the last five years as as the Chapter Co-Chair. Howard holds a Master’s Degree in Accounting from Kean University, a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from St. John’s University, and a Bachelor of Arts with a focus on political science from the University at Albany, State University of New York. Additional information about Howard’s education and professional experience may be found at https://www.linkedin.com/in/howardspieler.

Brad Brooks-Rubin is a partner at Arktouros pllc, a boutique law firm specializing in sanctions, anti-money laundering, and regulatory advice. Brad advises financial institutions, gold and jewelry companies, trade associations, and nonprofit organizations on sanctions, responsible business, and related issues. 

Most recently, Brad was a Senior Advisor in the Office of Sanctions Coordination at the U.S. Department of State, where he was responsible for sanctions policy coordination related to sub-Saharan Africa, Burma, the West Bank, and natural resources. Brad had re-joined State from 6.5 years as Policy Director and then Managing Director at The Sentry, an innovative civil society organization focused on  investigating and disrupting the intersection of conflict and corruption. Brad also served as the Strategic Advisor & North America Engagement Lead at the Responsible Jewellery Council in 2021-2022.

Brad has also held roles at the Gemological Institute of America (where he focused on a range of projects related to sustainable development, human rights, and compliance), the U.S. Department of State (where he focused on the Kimberley Process and conflict minerals in eastern DRC, as well as a range of sanctions issues), the Department of the Treasury (where he served as an Attorney-Advisor for the Office of Chief Counsel, Foreign Assets Control, and concentrated on sanctions issues, principally related to a range of sub-Saharan African conflicts), as well as two law firms (where he advised clients on economic sanctions, export controls, and a range of business/human rights issues).

Brad is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, where he teaches a course on the "resource curse," a Board Member of the Wildlife Justice Commission, Praeveni (which fights modern slavery and human trafficking), and We Are Family DC, as well as a music writer and DJ on a community radio station in the DC area.

Anand Sithian is a partner in Crowell & Moring’s New York office and is a member of the International Trade, White Collar & Regulatory Enforcement, and Financial Services groups.  Anand advises multinational companies, financial institutions, and companies in the digital assets, technology, and FinTech spaces on a variety of regulatory and compliance issues relating to AML, the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), and U.S. economic sanctions, including those administered by OFAC. 

Anand also represents companies and individuals in responding regulatory inquiries and grand jury investigations relating to sanctions, AML, digital assets compliance, asset forfeiture, and other white-collar matters.  Anand began his legal career at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he served as a Trial Attorney in the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS). 

Olivia is the Strategic Growth Director at Kharon, where she partners with leading organizations to navigate complex sanctions and compliance challenges. With over five years at Kharon, she has developed deep expertise in military end use (MEU), export controls, and financial crime compliance.

Before joining Kharon, Olivia specialized in due diligence, supporting financial institutions in uncovering and addressing legal, reputational, and financial risks.

Her work sits at the intersection of risk intelligence and strategic decision-making, helping clients stay ahead in an evolving regulatory landscape.