Tommaso Di Ruzza is a senior director in K2 Integrity’s Financial Crimes Compliance practice, based in Abu Dhabi. He advises global financial institutions and governments on all manner of anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) issues, with a particular focus on helping clients design, establish, and maintain strong and effective Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs). He helps clients evaluate and enhance their existing AML/CFT policies and procedures against international AML/CFT standards (FATF, EU, etc.) and implement new programs to ensure compliance and effectiveness.
Prior to joining K2 Integrity, Tommaso was an independent consultant, offering strategic and technical advisory services to government bodies and private entities. Representative engagements included offering support for an EMEA nation’s implementation of the FATF’S International Co-operation Review Group (ICRG) and national action plans, and strategic assistance with submissions for the FATF and the ICRG. He also served as a Council of Europe expert, offering support to several FIUs within the European Region (including technical papers, guidelines, and workshops) for the review and enhancement of their policies, procedures, and systems for conducting operational and strategic analysis.
Before that, Tommaso spent 15 years serving in various positions in the Holy See/Vatican City State, most recently as director of the Holy See/Vatican City State’s Financial Information Authority (FIA). In that position, he managed the institutional activities of the FIA at the national/international level; led the operational and strategic analysis of suspicious activity reports (SARs) and the gathering of information and dissemination of reports to the judiciary and law enforcement agencies; and served as a liaison facilitating cooperation and the exchange of information with national and foreign authorities (both central banks and FIUs). He also served as executive secretary of the Financial Security Committee (COSIFI) and coordinated the first general risk assessment of the Holy See/Vatican City.
Tommaso is a member of the pool of experts of ECOFEL-Egmont Centre of FIU Excellence and Leadership and is qualified as a MONEYVAL (Council of Europe) evaluator. He is also president emeritus and co-founder of the St. Thomas Aquinas Circle.
Tommaso holds a Ph.D. in public international law from the University of Rome, a diploma in legal studies from the University of Oxford (New College), and an LL.M. from the University of Siena. A native Italian speaker, Tommaso is fluent in English and proficient in French.
