2026 AGENDA

Washington D.C. | April 16-17, 2026

Wednesday, 16 April 2026

Main Conference Day 1

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8:00 – 9:00

Registration and Welcome Coffee for all Attendees

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9:00 – 9:15

WELCOME REMARKS

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9:15 – 9:45

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

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9:45 – 10:30

GENERAL SESSION: Eye on the Horizon - Future Trends in Geopolitics, Sanctions and Export Controls

In the last year, we have experienced a myriad of geopolitical change on the world stage. From sweeping tarrifs from one day to the next, to divergences in policies and priorities between the US and Europe, there have been many surprising sanctions and export controls developments. New trends, such as AI-powered geopolitical risk monitoring stronger interplay between sanctions and export controls, heightened enforcement on big-tech, and EU (!) sanctions possibly affecting US businesses, can imperil a company’s performance if not managed properly.

In this session, experts will explore what is next, how to integrate geopolitical risk in your compliance program, and how to manage evolving new sanctions, supply chain disruptions and enforcement risks.

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10:30 – 11:00

Networking Break in Exhibit Area

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11:00– 11:45

GENERAL SESSION: The New War on Drugs: Fentanyl, Cartels, and Transnational Criminal Organizations

“In recent years, the US government has increased sanctions on Mexican cartels and Chinese chemical suppliers involved in fentanyl trafficking. FinCEN’s orders, made pursuant to the Fentanyl Sanctions Act and the FEND Off Fentanyl Act, designated three Mexican financial institutions. Now, the counter-narcotics sanctions heatmap has expanded to include countries like Thailand, UAE and even Switzerland! As such, it has become top priority for financial institutions and exporters alike with operations in, or exposure to, jurisdictions where these cartels are active to assess their existing sanctions controls and ensure they are sufficient to minimize the risk of interacting with such designated terrorist organizations.

In this session, we will discuss the impact of these recent cartel terrorist designations and the resulting sanctions and criminal liability risks.”

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11:45 – 12:30

The After-Action Review of Recent Sanctions and Export Controls Enforcement Actions

In this session, speakers review the very latest US enforcement actions, sanctions and export controls government investigations and new priorities identified in DOJs Corporate Enforcement Policy and Department.

Our panel will discuss how to identify (and fix!) common compliance mistakes and provide key takeaways from recent cases involving sanctions and export controls violations. Practical topics, such as: When to do a Voluntary Self-Disclosure, will also be covered. Knowing the pitfalls could be the difference between a simple bump in the road or falling headfirst into regulatory quicksand!

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12:30 – 13:30

Networking Luncheon

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13:30 – 15:00

ROUNDTABLES – 2 rounds of 40 mins each + 10 mins to move between sessions

Back by popular demand – the ACSS Conference Break-Out Round Tables! Ask practical questions and problem-solve with your peers in two back-to-back sessions of 40 minutes each. Attendees simply join their roundtable of choice, where they can engage in an informal discussion and benefit from a topic-specific networking opportunity. These roundtables will take place on Day 1 and Day 2 of the Conference, enabling attendees to choose four topics in total over two days.

A – China, China, China: Semiconductors, Tariffs, Countersanctions and More

B – The Status Quo on Iran and Middle East Related Sanctions

C – Sanctions Tech: Using AI and Other Ways to Build a Robust Screening Program to Reduce False Positives

D – Building an EAR and Trade Compliance Framework for Banks

E – Outbound Investment Rules and their Intersection with Sanctions and Export Controls

F – Russian Energy Sanctions Circumvention: Oil Price Cap, Ghost Fleets

G – Counternarcotrafficking, Cartel Related Sanctions, and Venezuela

H – Dealing with New OFAC Recordkeeping and Retention Requirements

I – Reserved for Hot Topic

J – Conflict of Laws, Sanctions Clauses, and other Legal Grey Zones

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15:00 – 15:30

Networking Break in Exhibit Area

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15:30 – 16:00

GENERAL SESSION: AI Tech Compliance Boot Camp

The Concept: In this session, we focus on a single, high-priority sanctions or trade compliance problem that could be fixed with novel AI tools. We will discuss what the possibilities are from a technology perspective as well as the steps to take to take to bring the project to a succesful completion, all in a way that your regulator will like as well.
The session is organized in three phases:
Phase 1 (The Problem): The Compliance Officer presents a hypothetical pain point, e.g., “”We generate 5,000 false positive sanctions alerts per month.””
Phase 2 (The Solution): The Tech Vendor gives a brief (5-minute) demonstration of how their tool addresses that specific problem (e.g., using AI for better entity resolution).
Phase 3 (The Governance): The Compliance officer and Lawyer/Consultant then discuss the Model Risk Management and Auditability requirements needed to safely implement that tool.

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15 mins

Switch off the Battle Mindset with our Santions Guru Meditation

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16:15 – 16:45

GENERAL SESSION: The Sanctions and Export Controls Trivia Game 20/20

“Think you have the Sanctions Guru knowledge it takes to win? Participate in our trivia quiz to test your real-world knowledge of sanctions regulations, export controls, and key lessons learned from enforcement cases in a fun and interactive format. But you better be quick or someone will beat you!

Amazing prizes to be won for those who win. So don’t miss out!”

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16:45 – 17:00

Closing Remarks Day 1

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17:00 – 18:00

Networking Cocktail

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18:30 – 19:30

ACSS ‘members-only’ Experience: “Operation: Sanctions Guru Party”

Thursday, 17 April 2026

Main Conference Day 2

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8:00 – 9:00

Registration and Welcome Coffee – Light breakfast

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9:00 – 9:30

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

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9:30 – 10:30

GENERAL SESSION: The Regulatory Sit-Down: A Briefing with Government Agencies about Policies and Enforcement Priorities

Join our panel of experts from global enforcement agencies and come ready with your questions! Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and also receive direct updates from U.S. and international government agencies driving sanctions policy and enforcement priorities.

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10:30 - 11:00

Networking Break in Exhibit Area

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11:00– 11:45

GENERAL SESSION: China: Navigating the New Axis of Compliance

In the age of nuclear weapons and “forever wars,” sanctions—both unilateral and multilateral—have become preferred arrows in the quiver of U.S. foreign policy. China continues to undermine these efforts by facilitating sanctions and export control evasion on behalf of Russia, Iran, and North Korea via direct sales of dual-use items and by allowing transshipment through its territory. Increasingly, we see coordinated efforts to circumvent sanctions and export controls, through direct clearing in RMB, shadow fleet cargo vessels, and barter trade. In addition, Chinas uses counter-sanctions that affect Western companies with a Chinese nexus.

This panel will discuss the state of play on China, what methods China uses to evade restrictions, and how to navigate and protect against these complex risks.

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11:45 - 12:30

GENERAL SESSION: Field Training: The Compliance Crisis Simulation

In this scenario-based interactive workshop, attendees are divided into small teams and presented with a scenario where a foreign subsidiary has with a link to a sanctioned entity and a possible issue with a controlled item. After presented with the “”Initial Incident Report””, the teams are given time to discuss and draft their initial strategy, a self-disclosure (or not) recommendation, and three immediate remediation steps.

Once ready, Teams will have the opportunity to present their strategy to a “”Simulated Regulator Panel”” with speakers playing the role of OFAC/BIS/DOJ officials. Join us as attendees will receive valuable and practical feedback on their proposed strategy in real time!