Transnational Crime, Investigations and Asset Recovery

Dr. Claudia Götz Staehelin

Dr. iur., LL.M., Partner, Nater Dallafior

Claudia Götz Staehelin advises companies on complex investigations and proceedings at the intersection of civil, criminal, and regulatory law. She leads extensive internal investigations, supports her clients in crisis management, and advises them on all compliance matters. Claudia represents her clients in Swiss and cross-border litigation, in international legal and administrative assistance matters, and in internal and regulatory investigations conducted by Swiss and foreign authorities. In her industry focus area of Healthcare & Life Sciences, she advises her clients on regulatory issues and compliance matters.
Drawing on her experience as Head of Litigation at Novartis, Claudia regularly assists companies with cross-border projects that require innovative thinking. She has extensive international experience in assessing litigation and investigation risks, as well as in supporting clients with strategic decisions. Thanks to her many years of experience working for a global company and in the field of internal investigations, she has extensive expertise regarding the challenges and opportunities that ESG issues present for companies. Claudia is listed by Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 as one of Switzerland’s leading business lawyers in the areas of Healthcare & Life Sciences as well as Regulatory, Investigations, and Compliance. Legal 500 2023 lists her as a “Leading Individual” for Regulatory, Compliance & Investigation and for Healthcare & Life Sciences.

Marc Hassberger

lic. iur., LL.M., Partner, Chabrier Avocats

Over 30 years of practice, Marc has gathered extensive expertise in commercial and financial litigation, both civil and criminal.

Marc is recognized as one of Switzerland’s leading specialists in financial criminal law, money laundering, fraud, corruption and criminal organizations. He is also a first-tier lawyer in commercial and banking dispute resolution.Marc’s practice focuses on complex litigation, such as complex commercial and banking matters, or criminal cases involving multiple jurisdictions.

In the last 20 years, Marc has regularly been recognized as a leader in his field by several legal publications. Marc was also honored to be admitted as a fellow in the International Academy of Financial Crime Litigators, an institution gathering highly experienced litigation professionals and distinguished academics.

Carla Reyes

lic. iur., LL.M., Partner, Des Gouttes & Associés

Carla Reyes has a broad practice across the spectrum of criminal and commercial litigation. Her area of expertise and practice focus on complex fraud matters, business crime, international mutual legal assistance (criminal, administrative and tax related), extradition, internal corporate investigations, as well as compliance and regulatory. She is frequently retained as counsel in connection with white-collar crime cases at a federal or state level, and provides international legal assistance, advising on sanction matters.

Carla Reyes regularly ensures the enforcement of foreign and national decisions and clients‘ rights by means of criminal proceedings, asset tracing and recovery, as well as civil seizure of assets on behalf of financially harmed clients.

She has considerable experience in domestic and cross-border multi-jurisdictional commercial and criminal litigation. She practices, among others, in international commercial disputes of a civil nature, in particular in the banking industry.

Carla Reyes is an active member of the International Fraud Group (IFG), the European Fraud and Compliance Lawyers Association (EFCL) and the Women in White Collar Defense Association (WWCDA). She is also the Vice President of the Victims of Crime Association of Lawyers (VOCAL), an officer of the Asset Recovery Committee of the International Bar Association (IBA) and a member of the advisory board of the European Criminal Bar Association (ECBA).

Carla Reyes was admitted to the Swiss Bar in 2008 and to the New York Bar in 2011 after graduating from the University of Geneva with a law degree in 2005 and from Columbia University, New York, with a master of law in 2010.

Patrik Salzmann

lic. iur., LL.M. , Partner, Nater Dallafior

Patrik Salzmann is specialised in domestic and cross-border litigation with a focus on commercial and corporate litigation and white-collar crime. His practice includes criminal defence, regulatory and administrative proceedings, shareholder and association disputes, enforcement proceedings, asset recovery and legal assistance. Patrik also conducts internal and regulatory investigations on behalf of companies, institutions and authorities. Patrik has been a partner at Nater Dallafior since 2016. He is admitted to the bar in Switzerland. He studied at the universities of Zurich, Lausanne, Deusto (Spain), and UC Berkeley (USA).

Dr. Maria-Antonella Bino

PhD in Law, General Counsel, Head Legal & Compliance, Vontobel

Dr. Maria-Antonella Bino is a seasoned legal expert with leadership roles in both the private and public sectors.

She currently serves as General Counsel leading the Legal & Compliance team of Vontobel. Dr. Bino brings extensive expertise in corporate governance, regulatory compliance, and strategic legal advisory.

Her professional journey includes key positions such as Advisor to the Group CEO and Head of Legal & Compliance at Sygnum Bank AG, where she was also a member of the Group Executive Board. Earlier in her career, Dr. Bino held several high-profile roles at BNP Paribas, including General Counsel and Executive Board Member at BNP Paribas (Suisse) SA in Geneva. Additionally, she was a Board Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee for BNP Paribas Wealth Management in Monaco.

In the public sector, Dr. Bino served as Deputy Attorney General of Switzerland and held various leadership roles at the Federal Examining Magistrates’ Office.

Beyond her executive roles, Dr. Bino serves as a Substitute Federal Judge at the Federal Criminal Supreme Court in Bellinzona, and a member of the Board of Directors at Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) in Bern.

Dr. Bino holds a PhD in Law and was awarded the Prof. Walther Hug Prize for her academic achievements.

Benjamin Borsodi

LL.M., Partner, Schellenberg Wittmer

Benjamin Borsodi is a partner in Schellenberg Wittmer’s dispute resolution practice group where he heads the white-collar crime and corporate investigation group in Geneva. His areas of practice include all aspects of business crime such as fraud, anti-corruption, money laundering and related aspects. Benjamin is also specialized in the conduct of large-scale corporate investigations. Furthermore, he regularly acts for financial institutions in banking and commercial litigation.

Examples of Benjamin’s expertise include representing a leading commodity trading house in the context of transnational bribery allegations; assisting a listed banking software company in an internal investigation regarding adverse allegations issued by a short-seller; defending a senior public official facing allegations of corruption and bribery; and acting on behalf of several major financial institutions facing claims from disgruntled clients.

Benjamin is an officer of the International Bar Association’s Anti-Corruption Committee. He has authored and co-authored several publications on business crime related issues and is a frequent speaker at international conferences.

Benjamin graduated from the University of Geneva with a degree in economics in 1994 followed by a degree in law in 1996. He was admitted to the Swiss Bar in 1999 and to the New York Bar in 2001, after earning a Master of Laws from Georgetown University in 2000.

Dr. Anna Bradshaw

Dr. iur., Partner, Peters & Peters Solicitors LLP

Anna advises individuals and corporates on all aspects of financial crime and sanctions risk, compliance and enforcement.

She is ranked by Chambers UK 2026 as Band 1 for Sanctions as a “financial crime and sanctions expert” and Band 2 for POCA Work & Asset Forfeiture, as having “an excellent reputation in the POCA space” and being “a well-known expert in anti-money laundering”.

Anna is described by Legal 500 2025 as „outstanding“ and „highly skilled at running complex cases“, including those that involve financial crime or that overlap with sanctions violations. She is praised for her ability to traverse sanctions and export controls, combined with her expertise in financial crime and experience on cross-border matters.

She is ranked as a ‘Global Elite Thought Leaders’ by Lexology (formerly Who’s Who Legal) for her work on Trade & Customs – International Sanctions, a ranking she has maintained since the inception of this category. She is also recommended for her work in Business Crime Defence, and Investigations.

Anna is an Associate Fellow of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), assisting the Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies (CFCS) with its research on US, EU and UK sanctions. She serves on the Advisory Committee to the European Law Institute (ELI) project on ELI Guiding Principles of Seizing Sanctioned assets, and as a member of the Legal Services Board’s Professional Ethics and Rule of Law (PERL) Reference Group. She is a founder of the Sanctions Practitioners Group (SPG).

Anna co-edits The Guide to Sanctions, published by the Global Investigations Review (currently in its sixth edition) and co-writes the chapter on ‚Impact of UK sanctions on the provision of legal services‚ with Alistair Jones.

Anna a sought-after speaker on sanctions and financial crime topics and has given evidence in Parliament on a number of EU criminal law and criminal justice cooperation matters in her former capacity as a member of the Law Society’s EU Committee.

She holds a doctorate in anti-money laundering regulation.

Anna is also admitted to the Roll of Irish Solicitors.

Ophélia Claude

LL.M., Partner, Litigation Department, Paul Hastings, LLP

Ophélia Claude is a partner in the Investigations and White Collar Defense practice at Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s Paris office. Her expertise spans a broad spectrum of white collar crime, compliance, and investigations, with a strong focus on vigilance, corporate sustainability due diligence, and ESG-related litigation. Ophélia’s work in these areas has made her an invaluable resource for clients navigating complex regulatory environments and ethical challenges in today’s increasingly ESG-conscious world.

Chloé Fässler-Higgins

LL.M., Group Compliance Investigations Lead, Nestlé

Chloé Fässler-Higgins is a Swiss-qualified Attorney-at-Law and currently serves as Group Compliance Investigations Lead at Nestlé, where she leads complex internal investigations and drives global initiatives relating to compliance, workplace integrity, and investigative best practices. She brings more than 15 years of international legal, compliance, employment law, and investigations experience across both private practice and in-house leadership roles.

Prior to her current position, Chloé was a Senior Legal Counsel within Nestlé’s Employment Law Competence Centre, advising senior stakeholders worldwide on employment law, compliance, investigations, and litigation matters. Before joining Nestlé, she spent more than seven years with KPMG Law Switzerland, where she progressed to Senior Manager and Deputy Head of HR Legal Services, advising multinational clients on employment, corporate, contractual, transactional, and compliance-related matters.

Chloé holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in International Dispute Resolution and Sports Law from the University of London and a Master of Law from the University of Fribourg. She is also a longstanding member of the Swiss Football League’s Conciliation Committee, acting as mediator and conciliation judge in employment-related disputes within professional football.

Having grown up in Tanzania and worked extensively in international environments, Chloé brings a global mindset and a practical, business-oriented approach to addressing complex legal and compliance challenges. She regularly collaborates with senior executives, legal and compliance professionals, HR leaders, and external advisors across diverse jurisdictions and cultures. Fluent in French, English, and German, she is a passionate advocate for ethical leadership, effective investigations, and fostering cultures of integrity.

Christoph Harler

Rechtsanwalt, Chief Compliance Officer, Holcim

Christoph Harler is Chief Compliance Officer of Holcim Group Services Ltd. – Zug, Switzerland, a global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions. Christoph joined Holcim in November 2022 from Bilfinger SE, a German stock listed industrial services provider, where he held various positions from 2017 until 2022, and since 2019 served as Chief Compliance Officer. A qualified lawyer, Christoph worked the first 10 years of his career for two US based international law firms. Having started in the areas of Corporate law and M&A, the focus of Christoph’s practice soon shifted to International Arbitration, Internal Investigations and Compliance.

Christine Hentke

Deputy Global Head Litigation & Regulatory Enforcement, Co-Head Litigation & Regulatory Enforcement Germany and EMEA and Head of Legal Risk Reporting, Deutschen Bank

Christine Hentke ist Deputy Global Head Litigation & Regulatory Enforcement, Co-Head Litigation & Regulatory Enforcement Germany and EMEA sowie Head of Legal Risk Reporting bei der Deutschen Bank in Frankfurt. In diesen Funktionen verantwortet sie die strategische Begleitung und Beilegung von Rechtsstreitigkeiten, behördlichen Verfahren und regulatorischen Untersuchungen der Bank in verschiedenen Jurisdiktionen. Darüber hinaus ist sie für das interne und externe Reporting zu Rechts- und Verfahrensrisiken gegenüber dem Management, Aufsichtsorganen und weiteren Stakeholdern zuständig.

Im Rahmen ihrer Tätigkeit berät sie zu komplexen rechtlichen, regulatorischen und reputationsbezogenen Fragestellungen und begleitet die Zusammenarbeit mit Aufsichts- und Strafverfolgungsbehörden in nationalen und grenzüberschreitenden Sachverhalten. Ein besonderer Schwerpunkt ihrer Arbeit liegt auf der Steuerung bedeutender Litigation- und Enforcement-Verfahren. Während eines zweijährigen Secondments in London konnte Frau Hentke umfassende Erfahrungen in einer Common-Law-Jurisdiktion zu diesen Themen gewinnen.

Vor ihrem Wechsel zur Deutschen Bank war Christine Hentke als Rechtsanwältin bei Freshfields LLP tätig. Dort beriet sie nationale und internationale Mandanten im Bereich Corporate M&A mit besonderem Schwerpunkt auf Private-Equity-Transaktionen.

Ihr Studium absolvierte Christine Hentke an der Bucerius Law School in Hamburg. Während ihres Studiums und Referendariats machte sie Auslandsstationen an der University of Edinburgh sowie bei Freshfields in New York.

Dr. Oliver Kipper

Dr. iur., Partner, Kipper Durth Schott Rechtsanwaelte

Dr. Oliver Kipper, born 1970, is a co-founder and partner of Kipper Durth Schott Rechtsanwaelte with offices in Frankfurt am Main und Darmstadt.

His work is mainly focused on defending and advising individuals and corporates in economic crime, fraud and tax crime. He has extensive experience in transnational cases and in cases of international legal assistance. He is a qualified Specialist Lawyer in Criminal Law.

Dr. Oliver Kipper is a founding member and current chairman of the European Fraud and Compliance Lawyers (EFCL) as well as a founding member of Wirtscha_sstrafrechtliche Vereinigung e.V. (WisteV) the predominant German association of professionals (lawyers, tax-advisors, judges, prosecutors etc.) in the field of economic crime. Apart from speaking German Dr. Oliver Kipper also advises his clients in English.

Prior to the foundation of Kipper Durth Schott Dr. Oliver Kipper worked as an associate of Prof. Dr. Holger Matt, past chairman of the ECBA and board member of the EFCL. He started his career as a law student at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität in Freiburg i.Br. After that he worked as a research fellow at the Max-Planck-Institute for foreign and international criminal law. He finished his doctoral thesis summa cum laude as a postgraduate of the Max-Planck-Institute‘s co-director Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Hans-Jörg Albrecht.

Dr. Oliver Kipper is continuously listed in Legal 500 Germany as well as the JUVE Handbook „German Commercial Law Firms“.He is described as „always delivering really well” (JUVE 2017), “intelligent“ and „extremely well connected in Europe“ (JUVE 2024), „performs best in Germany in economic and tax matters“ (Legal 500 EMEA 2024) and most recently as „a great bloke“ (JUVE 2025).

Oliver M. Kunz

lic. iur., LL.M. (Stanford), Partner, Walder Wyss AG

Oliver M. Kunz specialises in civil and criminal litigation and internal investigations.

In particular, he advises and represents injured parties, defendants and third parties in white collar criminal cases and related civil proceedings, namely in the area of asset recovery as well as in technology-related disputes.
In addition, he conducts internal investigations, in particular regarding allegations of fraud and corruption as well as suspected misconduct of members of corporate bodies and other sensitive investigations.

Oliver M. Kunz regularly publishes and lectures in his areas of practice, namely on jurisdiction and enforcement issues as well as on appeal proceedings.

He graduated from the University of Fribourg (lic. iur. 2003 with the additions „bilingual“ and „European law“). As a Fulbright Scholar, he completed his education at Stanford Law School in the field of law, science and technology (LL.M. 2010).

Oliver M. Kunz joined Walder Wyss in 2004. Prior to that, he worked as a student-assistant in criminal law at the University of Fribourg and as legal counsel for a non-profit organisation. Oliver M. Kunz speaks German, French and English. He is registered with the Bar Register of the Canton of Zurich and admitted to practice law throughout Switzerland.

Jean-Baptiste Leclercq

LL.M., General Counsel, Gunvor Group 

Mr. Leclercq joined Gunvor in 2011 and is responsible overseeing Gunvor’s Legal, Compliance & Ethics program. Mr. Leclercq received a Bachelor of Law from the University of Geneva and an LL.M. master of laws from University of San Francisco, School of Law. He is licensed to practise in the state of New York. Prior to Gunvor, Mr. Leclercq served as head of legal for Addax Energy, and as a lawyer for BNP Paribas in the company’s Geneva office.

Saverio Lembo

lic iur., lic. oec., Partner, Bär & Karrer

Saverio Lembo co-heads Bär & Karrer’s White Collar Crime practice group. He was member of the Board of the Geneva Bar Association from 2022 to 2026.

He has extensive experience in white collar crime, commercial litigation, sport and commercial arbitration. Saverio Lembo’s practice also extends to internal investigations, monitorships of companies and enforcement of foreign judgments and awards.

Between 2022 and 2025, he was part of the team appointed by the US DOJ and the Swiss government for the monitorship of Glencore. He is a member of the Task Force recently appointed by the Swiss Federation of Lawyers in view of introducing a Deferred Prosecution Agreement in the Swiss legislation.

Marlo Lindeskog

Head of Group Compliance, Sanctions Division, Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research EAER, State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO

Marlo Lindeskog has been working in the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, Sanctions Division, for four years. As Head of the Legal Group, he is responsible in particular for procedures relating to the implementation and enforcement of sanctions under the Embargo Act, as well as cross-cutting legal issues concerning Swiss sanctions law. With a strong focus on dispute resolution, he regularly represents the Swiss Confederation before the Swiss Federal Courts in proceedings relating to sanctions. Based on this experience, he has developed a keen interest in sanctions law, international commercial law and the resolution of related disputes.

Marlo Lindeskog studied law at the Universities of Heidelberg and Fribourg.

Jitka Logesová

Head of the firm-wide Investigations, Crisis Response & Compliance Practice Group, Managing Partner Czech Republic, Wolf Theiss

Jitka Logesová is the Head of the firm-wide Investigations, Crisis Response and Compliance Practice. She specialises in compliance, corporate investigations, corporate criminal liability and white-collar crime, sanctions, and asset recovery.

In the past, Jitka was tasked by the Czech General Prosecutor’s Office with contributing to the drafting of the methodology for state prosecutors on the evaluation of corporate compliance management systems, and with training state prosecutors in this area.

She has extensive experience across a wide range of sectors, particularly life sciences, infrastructure, professional services, IT and the public sector. In these sectors, she has advised clients on FCPA-triggered issues and investigations, led numerous corporate internal investigations across CEE and SEE, and advised on a broad range of compliance matters, including the design and implementation of anti-corruption and compliance programmes.

She is a Member of the Supervisory Board of the CEELI Institute and a Fellow of the International Academy of Financial Crime Litigators. Previously, she served as a Member of the Advisory Board of the IBA Anti-Corruption Committee.

Jitka is ranked Band 1 for Compliance by Chambers & Partners Europe and is recognised as an Investigations Thought Leader and Asset Recovery practitioner by Who’s Who Legal.

Benoît A. Mauron

LL.M., MLaw, Partner, LALIVE

Benoît A. Mauron is a Partner at LALIVE working from its Geneva office. He specialises in litigation, focusing on fraud, criminal and regulatory matters. He represents high-net-worth individuals, corporates and foreign States.

Recommended for his “strong technical knowledge” (Legal 500, EMEA), he advises on both domestic and cross-border commercial disputes and fraud litigation, typically handling parallel civil and criminal proceedings. He has extensive experience representing victims of financial crimes before Swiss criminal authorities, particularly in asset recovery matters. He is also frequently active in complex international mutual legal assistance matters and money-laundering cases.

Benoît serves as Regional Representative for Western Europe of the IBA Asset Recovery Committee and is a member of both the International Bar Association and the Geneva Bar Association. He holds an LL.M. from Columbia Law School (Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar with Honours, 2015) and a Master of Laws from the University of Lausanne (major in Business Law, magna cum laude, 2009).

He is admitted to the bar in Switzerland (2012) and New York (2019). He speaks French, English, German and Spanish and is Swiss.

Pietro Meineri

LL.M., Senior Legal Counsel, Zurich

Pietro Meineri is a member of the Group Legal team at Zurich Insurance, where he advises on strategic projects and provides expertise across a range of areas, including sanctions, sustainability and emerging risks. Before joining Zurich, Pietro practised at leading law firms in Milan and Zurich. He holds a law degree from the University of Pisa, a diploma in law from the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies and an LL.M. from Harvard Law School. He is admitted to practise in Switzerland, New York, and Italy. Beyond his professional role, Pietro chairs an association dedicated to geopolitics and leads a geopolitics-focused working group within the Italian Chamber of Commerce for Switzerland.

Dr. Klaus Moosmayer

Dr. iur., Member of the Supervisory Board, Deutsche Bank

Klaus Moosmaye is Member of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bank AG and serves on the Audit, Risk and Compensation Control Committees of the bank. Prior to his appointment in May 2025, he was the Chief Ethics, Risk, and Compliance Officer and member of the Executive Committee of Novartis AG. Before joining Novartis in 2018, Klaus Moosmayer was the Chief Compliance Officer of Siemens AG. He began his career after studying law and completing his law doctorate (PhD) at the University of Freiburg i.Br., working as an attorney and criminal defence lawyer.

Klaus Moosmayer has held leadership roles on international platforms for many years. He led the Anti-Corruption Task Force of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD and was a board member of BIAC and of SwissHoldings. He has also been actively involved in the B20 process during the G20 presidencies of Germany, Argentina, Italy, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia, serving as Chair or Co-Chair of the respective business integrity task forces. Klaus Moosmayer was the first Chief Compliance Officer to speak before the United Nations General Assembly in 2017. At the World Economic Forum (WEF) he currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Global Future Council on Good Governance. He is a member of the Advisory Council of the Corporate Governance Institute at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management.

Klaus Moosmayer has extensively published on ethics, governance, risk management, and compliance and regularly speaks on these topics at international conferences. He is a guest lecturer at the International Anti-Corruption Academy in Austria and at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland.

Emmanuel Moyne

Partner, Bougartchev Moyne Associés

Former Secretary of the Conference, Emmanuel Moyne is the co-founder of Bougartchev Moyne Associés. Emmanuel Moyne has been advising, for 28 years, large companies and their executives in complex and transnational criminal business law proceedings as well as in regulatory litigation, industrial claims and civil and commercial litigation. He also assists them with their internal investigations, compliance matters, and the implementation of their AML, anti-corruption, criminal law, and Sapin II due diligence. He has been involved in notorious white-collar crime matters, including sensitive financial and political matters.

Recognized by the leading legal directories, Emmanuel is viewed as “deeply involved”, “strategic, available and efficient”. He is described as “an exceptional lawyer, fully committed to the company he advises and defends”, “thinking long term” and “always calm even if we work under pressure” (https://chambers.com/lawyer/emmanuel-moyne-france-121:1469517). He was elected Lawyer of the year by Best Lawyers for the years 2021 and 2024 in Corporate Governance and Compliance Practice. Décideurs Magazine ranks him in 2025 among “Leading” lawyers in white-collar crime and among “Excellent” ones in regulatory disputes, banking & finance litigation and internal investigations. He is amongst the leading Partners in white-collar crime and compliance according to Legal 500.

Emmanuel is a member of the American Bar Association and of the International Bar Association where he is Membership Officer of the Criminal Law Committee for 2025-2026. He is a member of the former internal investigations’ working group of the French Conseil National des Barreaux that released a Best Practices Guide for lawyers involved in internal investigations (https://www.cnb.avocat.fr/fr/actualites/presentation-du-guide-enquete-interne-du-crea) and is about to publish a book relating to internal investigation and cooperation with judicial and regulatory authorities.

Emmanuel authored numerous articles amongst which he recently published one related to the evidentiary value of the internal investigation’s findings before the labor courts.

Adrian Ott

BSc. Wirtschaftsinformatik, Partner, Forensic leader and Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer, EY Switzerland

Joana Rego

Master in Conflict and Security Studies, Sciences Po Paris, Partner, Raedas

Joana brings nearly two decades of experience in corporate investigations and is widely recognised as a leading expert in asset recovery. She leads Raedas’s Latin America and Sovereign Disputes practices.

Her work spans high-value, cross-border matters involving corporations, sovereigns, multilateral institutions, and high-net-worth individuals. Joana collaborates closely with clients and their legal teams, as well as third-party funders, PR professionals, and government affairs advisors—offering a strategic, multi-stakeholder approach to complex disputes. Her deep understanding of both common and civil law systems—and the dynamics between them—enables faster, more informed analysis and decision-making throughout a matter’s lifecycle.

Known for combining creativity with factual precision, Joana delivers targeted enforcement analysis and identifies pressure points to shape effective recovery strategies. She is particularly experienced in sovereign enforcement, with an experienced understanding of the mechanics, structure and use of state-owned assets, as well as evidence gathering requirements in support of alter ego / sovereign immunity assessments as well as commercial purpose and use of assets.

In addition to her asset recovery experience, Joana maintains a broader practice developing investigative and evidence-gathering strategies in contentious scenarios, including fraud and corruption investigations, intellectual property disputes, sanctions-related actions, and other sensitive or high-stakes matters—whether in litigation, arbitration, pre-contentious settings, or settlement negotiations.

She has authored expert reports, submitted declarations, and provided testimony in support of Raedas’s investigations before courts in England & Wales, the United States, Brazil, France, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, and others, as well as before numerous domestic and international arbitration tribunals.

She acts for both claimants and defendants.

Joana is ranked Band 1 by Chambers in both Business Intelligence & Investigations and Asset Tracing & Recovery, and is recognised as a leading expert by Who’s Who Legal. Clients describe her as “fiercely bright and creative in her thought processes,” “thorough and meticulous,” and “very responsive, incisive and brings to group conversations a view that challenges things”.

Outside her casework, Joana co-leads Women in Disputes, Raedas’s award-nominated initiative promoting (female) empowerment in the investigations and disputes space.

Before co-founding Raedas in 2016, Joana was a partner at GPW and previously worked at Diligence in Brussels and London. She began her career in development cooperation at the OECD and the United Nations.

Brittany Schwertberger

Chief Compliance Officer

Brittany Schwertberger is Chief Compliance Officer and Executive Board member of TradeXBank AG, a boutique Swiss bank focused on commodity trade finance and corporate banking. Since joining the Bank in March 2025, she has led the bank’s compliance function, drawing on many years of senior compliance leadership experience at UBS and Credit Suisse, where she held various department head roles in compliance and operational risk. Before moving into banking, she practiced as a capital markets lawyer at a global law firm in New York. Brittany is a New York-qualified attorney and holds a Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School and a B.S. from Georgetown University. She brings deep expertise in Swiss and US financial crime and regulatory compliance and is particularly focused on building future-ready compliance programs that combine strong governance, practical risk management, and the smart use of technology.

Robert N. Sikellis

Global Head of Litigation and Investigations, Novartis

Robert Sikellis is the Global Head of Litigation and Investigations. In this capacity, he has overall global responsibility for group relevant litigation, as well as internal and governmental investigations. He is a member of the Legal Leadership Team.
Prior to joining Novartis in 2019, Mr. Sikellis held several leadership roles within Siemens AG. Most recently, he was Chief Counsel Compliance based in Munich, Germany, where he was responsible for all compliance-related investigations world-wide. Prior to that, he was Senior Vice President & General Counsel for Siemens Asia based in Shanghai, China and General Counsel, Regional Compliance Officer and Member of the Board of Directors for Siemens Greece, based in Athens.
Previously, Mr. Sikellis was the Chief of the Attorney General’s Special Criminal Investigations Division based in Massachusetts, where he oversaw and supervised all investigations and prosecutions for the Division, including the High Technology Crime, Narcotics, Organized Crime, Arson and Asset Forfeiture Units.
Mr. Sikellis was also previously an Adjunct Professor at Boston University School of Law, where he taught advanced trial advocacy. He graduated with honors from Boston University and Boston University School of Law in 1989.

Nicholas Surmacz

MBA, Partner, Kobre & Kim LLP

Nicholas Surmacz is an accomplished trial lawyer and investigator who regularly represents corporations, executives and high net worth individuals facing investigations, enforcement actions, economic sanctions and asset forfeiture efforts by sovereign states and global regulators.

Mr. Surmacz has secured the declination of criminal and civil charges on behalf of corporations and high-profile individuals after investigation by the U.S. DOJ into violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) as well as the wire fraud, money laundering, and tax laws. On behalf of corporate clients, he secured the dismissal of a $500 million fraudulent conveyance action for one and recovered over $400 million in stolen cryptocurrency for another.

Before joining Kobre & Kim, Mr. Surmacz served as an Assistant Chief of the DOJ Fraud Section in Washington, DC. Mr. Surmacz’s practice focuses heavily on cross-border matters across Europe, Africa and the Middle East, such as navigating cross-border treaty requests, including extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) requests for evidence.

Prior to his government service, Mr. Surmacz earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA), was licensed as a Certified Public Accountant, and practiced at White & Case LLP in New York.

Dr. Olivier Thormann

Dr. iur., Juge pénal fédéral, Tribunal pénal fédéral

Educated at the universities of Basle and Geneva, Olivier Thormann has dedicated his professional career to criminal justice. After an initial experience in the field of legal mutual assistance at the Federal Office of Justice and as a cantonal investigating magistrate, Olivier Thormann took over as head of the International Mutual Assistance Division at the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland in 2011. In connection with the new federal competence in stock market offences, he subsequently set up a specialized division and later on headed the whole WCC division. In 2019, he was elected as a judge to the newly created Appeals Chamber of the Federal Criminal Court, which he presided from 2020 to 2025. In addition to his main professional role, Olivier Thormann also works as a lecturer at the University of Fribourg and at the ZHAW in the field of penal law and WCC. In this capacity he also contributes to the research in criminal and procedural law.

Karin de Witt

LL.M., Director, Associate General Counsel, Head of Investigations Lonza Group Ltd, Switzerland 

Karin de Witt is Head of Investigations at Lonza, with extensive experience in compliance and corporate governance. A former lawyer in private practice, she has held senior compliance roles at multinational organizations. Her work spans complex cross-border investigations, compliance program management, training, and compliance analytics. Karin leads Lonza’s global investigations function and broader Ethics & Compliance initiatives.

Mary Young

MA, LLB, Partner, Kingsley Napley LLP

Mary Young is a partner in the dispute resolution team at Kingsley Napley in London. She is a commercial litigator with a particular interest in fraud and asset tracing for which she is recommended in all the usual places. Mary has acted as a Court appointed supervising solicitor of search and imaging orders and in recent years has acted for both claimants and defendants in civil bribery matters. She has spent a lot of time over the last few years puzzling over questions of privilege and the fraud/iniquity exception. For the last 10 years Mary has written a quarterly fraud summary of what she thinks are the most interest fraud and fraud-adjacent cases which is published on the Kingsley Napley website and shared on LinkedIn.