Regulatory Ramblings

Episode 76 with Joshua Chu, Syed Musheer Ahmed and Sean Lee  🎧

The common theme for this episode is FinTech and Web3 writ large – with an eye towards digital assets and virtual currency.

In Spotlight segment, we’ll be speaking with a returning guest and a dear friend of the program – Syed Musheer Ahmed of Hong Kong-based FinStep Asia on the recently disseminated the “Hong Kong Web3 Blueprint: Building a Web 3 International Financial...

Episode 75 with David Cameron, Syed Musheer Ahmed and Joshua Chu  🎧

This episode of Regulatory Ramblings takes a deep dive into the current state of Hong Kong’s startup environment - exploring how conducive the city’s legal, commercial, and policy infrastructure is for startups to not only launch, but also to scale.

We begin with a spotlight conversation featuring David Cameron, a veteran American lawyer and founder of the Hong Kong...

Episode #74 with Tram Anh Nguyen and Professor Marc I. Steinberg 🎧

In this episode, we feature two conversations exploring different frontiers of finance and technology.

In our opening spotlight, we welcome back Marc Steinberg, professor at Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law and a leading voice in securities and corporate law. His latest book, Corporate Director and Officer Liability: Discretionary, Not Fiduciary (...

Episode #73 with Christopher Cottrell, Richard Butler and Haider Mannan 🎧 

This episode of Regulatory Ramblings explores how shifting geopolitics is reshaping regulation, investment, and compliance across Asia.

In the first segment, veteran Indo-Pacific journalist Christopher Cottrell joins us from Thailand to discuss rising political tensions following the July 1 suspension of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. Cottrell reflect...

Ep #72 with Ritu Bhasin and Jeiz Robles  🎧

At a time when DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) efforts are being challenged in parts of the world, our guests in this episode make a compelling case for why inclusion still matters - and how it must adapt to remain relevant. Through two rich, regionally grounded conversations, this episode explores how DEI is not just a moral imperative, but also a strategic investment in building w...

Episode #71 with Joshua Chu, Melizza Anievas, and Lucas Har 🎧

In this episode, we explore the intersecting challenges of financial regulation, geopolitics, and the evolving crypto landscape.

The initial Spotlight segment features Lucas Har (Risk & Compliance Product Manager, Dow Jones), joining us from Singapore to discuss the shifting dynamics of trade compliance, export controls, and sanctions—especially amid escalating US-Chi...

Episode #70 with Mark Nuttal and Steve Vickers 🎧 

In this episode of Regulatory Ramblings, two distinguished guests offer rare, experience-based insights into the global forces shaping today’s regulatory, security, and compliance environments.

The first segment features Steve Vickers, former head of the Criminal Intelligence Bureau of what was then the Royal Hong Kong Police Force and now CEO of Steve Vickers & Associa...

Episode #69 with Nigel Morris-Cotterill and Patrick Dransfield 🎧 

In this two-part episode of Regulatory Ramblings, host Ajay Shamdasani is joined by two seasoned professionals who examine artificial intelligence from very different, yet deeply complementary angles: cultural, philosophical, and ethical on one hand; legal, compliance, and technical on the other. The result is a wide-ranging, thought-provoking conversation about the ...

Episode #68 with Chad Olsen and Mark Nuttal 🎧 

In a world where politics and regulation intersect, compliance and legal professionals can no longer afford to ignore geopolitical risk. From the fallout of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan to Russia’s war in Ukraine, the global regulatory landscape has been reshaped by conflict, sanctions, inflation, and cross-border disruption.

In this episode, host Ajay Shamdasani speak...

Episode #67 with Nigel Morris-Cotterill, Oonagh van den Berg and Malcolm Nance

In this episode of Regulatory Ramblings, the panel tackles the Trump administration’s controversial move to suspend enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA)—a key anti-money laundering (AML) initiative passed under the Biden administration. The decision, announced by the U.S. Treasury Department in early March, stated that it would halt all pen...

Episode #66 with Henri Arslanian (Nine Blocks Capital Management) and Andrew Fei (King & Wood Mallesons)

This episode opens with Andrew Fei discussing recent US crypto regulatory developments. Then, Henri Arslanian, a leading voice in global crypto circles, shares his insights on the Trump administration’s decision to establish a cryptocurrency strategic reserve made up of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and Cardano. “This reall...

Episode #65 with Tom Fox & Malcolm Nance, plus Philip Rohlik 

This episode is devoted to discussing the recent executive order signed by US President Donald J. Trump instructing the Department of Justice to halt enforcement of the decades old, much-dreaded Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) pending a one-year review. In our initial “Regulatory Ramblings Spotlight” segment, we speak with Philip Rohlik, an American attorney in m...

With guests Dr. Inna Amesheva (ESG Book) and Janet Ledger (Commuity Business)

In time for International Women’s Day on March 8th, Dr. Inna Amesheva and Janet Ledger explore the evolving role of ESG in regulation and inclusion. Dr. Amesheva, Head of ESG Regulatory Solutions at ESG Book, examines Europe’s push to simplify ESG rules, while Janet Ledger, CEO of Community Business, highlights how ESG drives diversity, equity, a...

With guests Raoul Montgomery, Kirsty Crean, and Brian Cheung

As the theme of this episode is compliance, we first hear from Raoul Montgomery and Kirsty Crean of executive search and recruitment firm Arion House in Hong Kong about hiring trends in the legal and compliance space post-Chinese New Year. 

Hiring in Compliance & Legal: What’s Driving the Surge in 2025? Raoul & Kirsty share the areas in which the financial sector is...

With guests Dr. Oriol Caudevilla and Skip Schiphorst

The Green Belt and Road Initiative. Much has been said about the BRI, known in China as the One Belt One Road – and sometimes labelled the New Silk Road. A global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in more than 150 countries and international organizations, the scheme is composed of six urban development land corridors linked by...

In our first episode of 2025, with a brand-new format, Regulatory Ramblings highlights two critical developments shaping Asia’s financial and regulatory landscapes.

In Episode 61, Hong Kong-based lawyer Ben Hammond unpacks the city’s upcoming Stablecoin Bill, a landmark regulation aimed at strengthening digital asset oversight while bolstering Hong Kong’s position as a global financial hub. Hammond reflects on the bill’s significanc...

Replay: Ep #59 with Matthew Friedman (The Mekong Club)

Four decades fighting human trafficking and modern slavery – a diplomat reflects

As a former US and United Nations diplomat, Matthew Friedman has been a true warrior on the frontlines against modern slavery and sex trafficking for over four decades. He is an international human trafficking expert and the CEO of The Mekong Club, a non-governmental organization ...

Episode #60 with Theodora Lau, Unconventional Ventures 

Based in the US, Theodora Lau or Theo as she’s known, is Hong Kong born and bred and the founder of Unconventional Ventures. Her firm’s mission is developing and growing an ecosystem of financial institutions, corporations, startups, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and accelerators to make banking better, as well as to meet the often-unmet needs of consumers, including older...

Ep #58 with Huy Nguyen Trieu (CFTE) 🎧

Huy Nguyen Trieu is the author of the new book The AI-fication of Jobs. He is the co-founder along with Ms. Tram Anh Nguyen of the London-headquartered Centre for Finance, Technology and Entrepreneurship (or CFTE). As a global FinTech knowledge platform, CFTE opened its Abu Dhabi office earlier this year, in addition to its Singapore office. 

A leading voice in the world of ...