Rakesh Patel is the Head of Sanctions Policy Oversight & Export Controls at HSBC, with oversight responsibilities for HSBC’s sanctions and export controls policy and control framework globally. Rakesh joined HSBC in 2014, when the bank was reforming and strengthening its Sanctions & AML programme under a US Deferred Prosecution Agreement which was successfully lifted in December 2017, and has since overseen further development and enhancements that have made HSBC a leader in managing financial crime risk. Before this, Rakesh spent 14 years at Deloitte LLP working on a wide range of financial crime projects across Sanctions, AML and AB&C. He began his career as a management consultant in the energy sector with Arthur D. Little Ltd.

Rakesh is co-Chair of the UK Finance Sanctions Panel and is a regular speaker at industry events. He is a qualified Chartered Management Accountant and holds a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Imperial College London.