John Al Saddy is a director at K2 Integrity, where he advises clients on the full spectrum of financial integrity and regulatory compliance issues. He assists clients in developing and implementing effective and comprehensive anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) frameworks, including by enhancing the understanding and mitigation of all manner of financial crime risks, such as money laundering, terrorism financing, corruption, and bribery. John employs his subject-matter expertise to assist clients in implementing national requirements, global standards, and international best practices.
Prior to joining K2 Integrity, John worked for the U.S. Congress as a legal expert and the first-ever legal research fellow of the Law Library of Congress. As a trained attorney, John provided nonpartisan legal and policy analysis and guidance concerning foreign, comparative, and international legal and regulatory issues, with focus on Arab and Islamic countries’ financial crimes laws and regulations. John has published articles on financial integrity issues, including FATF global AML/CFT standards, anti-bribery and corruption global standards, and U.S. and international jurisdictions’ financial crimes laws and regulations.
Previously, he was a research associate to Judge Gregory Maggs, Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. He also worked as an associate with a Los Angeles law firm. In these roles John provided legal and policy consultations on issues concerning global financial crimes compliance, corporate governance, financial crimes risk management, economic sanctions, and AML/CFT standards.
John began his career as an attorney, with his practice covering clients in several countries in the Middle East. He predominantly advised banks and commercial companies on a wide range of economic crime and regulatory compliance issues and led independent audits and investigations. As a trial attorney, John tried cases and argued before trial and appellate courts, specializing in litigation and arbitration, with focus on plaintiff-side fraud and corruption cases. He also spent time at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) working on international law issues.
John received an LL.M in national security and U.S.-foreign relations law from The George Washington University Law School and an LL.B. (J.D. equivalent) from Damascus University Law School. He is a Certified Risk Management Specialist—Global Sanctions (CRMS-GS), is a Certified Financial Crime Specialist (CFCS), and holds an FCPA Expert Certification. John is fluent in Arabic and English and has a working knowledge of French.
