Exiger appoints ex-EY director as APAC Financial Crime head

Former EY managing director Joseph Quiazon has been appointed as APAC Head of Financial Crime Compliance for global specialist consultancy Exiger.

Global governance, risk and regulatory compliance consultancy Exiger has named ex-EY managing director and partner Joseph M. Quiazon as its new Head of Financial Crime Compliance for the APAC region. Quiazon will be based in the New York-headquartered firm’s Hong Kong office – which together with Singapore is one of its two Asian locations among six country bases worldwide. 

Boasting more than 25 years of financial crime and compliance experience, Quiazon joins Exiger after a period as a principal advisor to the local Gold Coast government in Queensland, Australia, before which he served as a Managing Director and ASEAN and South Asia regional head of financial crime compliance for Standard Chartered out of Singapore – overseeing the bank’s AML/CTF programme (Anti-Money Laundering/Counter Terrorist Financing).

Prior to Standard Chartered, Quiazon spent four and a half years as a Managing Director and partner with Ernst & Young in Hong Kong, where he led the Big Four firm’s local Fraud Investigations & Disputes Services practice while also serving as its Asia Pacific People team leader, managing a multi-disciplinary team of forensic accountants, lawyers and support staff.

Earlier in his career – following 11 years with the Victorian police force in Australia (where as a major fraud detective he worked to enforce professional standards in the legal profession) – Quiazon also spent time as a director at both Arthur Andersen (Melbourne/Manila) and KPMG (Brisbane), the latter where he led the firm’s Global Anti-Money Laundering APAC practice before joining Hill & Associates as an Executive Vice President in 2005.

“Joseph’s professional career consists of meaningful compliance experience against the backdrop of enhanced regulatory enforcement within financial institutions,” said Exiger APAC regional leader Daniel Banes, who joined the firm in 2014 after six and a half years between Kroll (Duff & Phelps) and Deloitte. “This background gives him a deep understanding of the compliance pain points experienced by Exiger’s global clients, and more importantly, how to solve them.”

According to the firm, Quiazon will now be tasked with helping to lead Exiger’s expansion into an increasingly competitive market. “Exiger is committed to supporting our clients’ growing needs in the Asia Pacific region,” said Michael Beber, Exiger President and CEO. “As the complexity of financial crime continues to evolve, having seasoned local experts like Joseph has become increasingly important.”

“It is a privilege to join an intellectually diverse team of subject matter experts at Exiger driven by a single common purpose: to help our clients find technology-enabled, sustainable compliance solutions to fight financial crime,” said Quiazon, with the firm adding that the APAC region poses unique challenges and opportunities, balancing fully developed regulatory and compliance environments against local emerging markets.

Meanwhile, Exiger has also added former Refinitiv executive James Swenson as a Vice President and International Head of Diligence for its APAC and EMEA markets – Exiger Diligence being one of the firm’s four primary business lines along with Advisory, Government Services, and Tech, the latter including AI-based automated due diligence solutions DDIQ and Insight 3PM.

“Organisations, struggling with how to incorporate more stringent compliance requirements into day-to-day business, are turning to technology for a sustainable solution,” said Taylor Twining, President of Exiger Diligence. “Empowering forward-thinking industry leaders, like James, with cutting-edge technology, positions us to meet our clients’ rapidly evolving needs to satisfy regulatory requirements and combat criminal activity.”

Related: FTI recruits compliance expert Rod Francis to forensics team in Hong Kong