Speakers
Agenda
29 april, 2026
Agenda of the Sofia Compliance Forum
the event will be held in a bilingual format (English and Bulgarian) with live translation
8:30 - 9:30
Registration & Networking Coffee
OPENING BLOCK – SETTING THE TONE
9:30 - 9:50
Welcome & Context
- Mr Anton Petrov – Chief Compliance Officer & Member of the Management Board, Fibank
- Mr Nikola Bakalov – Chief Executive Officer & Chair of the Management Board, Fibank
- Mr Orlin Hadjiiski – Partner, Tax, Legal and People Leader PwC SEE
9:50 – 10:10
Keynote
From Policies to Accountability:
Why Compliance Became a Leadership Risk
- Mr Kalin Hristov – Supervisory Board Member DSK Bank; Ex. Minister of Finance, BNB Management Board
ACT I – COMPLIANCE AS GOVERNANCE, NOT PAPERWORK
10:15 – 11:05
Who Really Owns Risk? Compliance, Management or the Board
Moderator: Mr Julian Mihov – Forensic Services Leader CEE, Client Development Leader SEE, CEE, PwC
- Mr Ivan Dimitrov – Chief Compliance Officer, Hiab
- Ms Christina Koycheva – Regional Legal & Compliance Officer Bulgaria and Greece, Veolia
- Ms Virag Filep – Head of Compliance Support, MBH Bank Hungary
- Mr. Vladimir Filipovski – Chief Compliance Officer at Magna MedTech Group
11:10 – 11:40
Context-setting Presentation:
What Supervisors Expect in Practice: Governance, Accountability and Board Responsibility – the broader EU perspective
- Mr Samuel Grand – INSEAD International Director certified, INED, Advisor to Supervisory & Management Boards, lecturer (previously Executive Cte member, CRO at ABN AMRO Luxembourg, Lombard Odier Europe and Edmond de Rothschild Europe)
SPECIAL ADDRESS
11:40-12:00
AML Supervision in Practice: Trends, Expectations and Reality Across Sectors
- Representatives of the Bulgarian Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU)
12:00 – 13:00
Lunch & Networking
ACT II – TECHNOLOGY AS DECISION SUPPORT (NOT MAGIC)
13:00 - 13:20
Context-setting Presentation
What Technology Can – and Cannot – Fix in Compliance
- Mr Faisal Islam, President Binderr
13:25 – 14:15
Panel
AI, Automation and Accountability: Who Is Responsible for the Outcome?
Moderator: Mr. Trayan Kosev – Managing Partner KGK law firm; leading innovations lawyer
- Ms Albena Petkova – Director Antifraud and AML Services, Borica
- Mr Miglen Evlogiev, Chief Information Security Officer, Evrotrust
- Ms Rocio Suarez Gray – Market Planning Director, Financial Crime Compliance, LexisNexis® Risk Solutions
- Мs Elisa Stefanoni – CFE, Director, Anti Financial Crime Data and Solutions, Moody’s
ACT III – WHERE COMPLIANCE FAILS IN REAL LIFE
14:20 – 14:40
Keynote
When Controls Exist but Fail: Lessons from Real Cases
- Mr Michael Weis – Forensic and Anti-Financial Crime Leader, PwC Luxembourg (formerly also in charge of Financial Crime for PwC France)
14:45 – 15:30
Panel
Economic Crime Beyond AML: Fraud, Misconduct and Insider Risk
Moderator: Ms Jitka Logesova – Head of firm-wide investigations, crisis response and compliance, Wolf Theiss
- Mr Michael Weis – Forensic and Anti-Financial Crime Leader, PwC Luxembourg (formerly also in charge of Financial Crime for PwC France)
- Ms Yana Prodanova – Head of Risk & Compliance ops, MyPos (also Member of the European Fraud Advisory Council of Mastercard); former Chief Risk & Compliance Officer (also MLRO) of Paynetics; former CRO & Member of the Board of TBI Credit
- Ms Maja Matic – Head of Research and Corruption Risk Analysis at the Serbian Anti-Corruption Agency (Agencija za sprečavanje korupcije)
15:30 – 16:00
Coffee break
16:00 – 16:20
Keynote
Human Behaviour and Ethical Blind Spots in Compliance Decision Making
- Mr Christian Hunt – lecturer and consultant; previously COO of UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority, Head of Compliance & Operational Risk at UBS Asset Management and UBS EMEA
16:25 – 17:15
Panel
Compliance Under Pressure: When Business Urgency Meets Regulatory Reality
Moderator:Mr Krasimir Stefanov – Senior Manager, PwC Law Office
- Mr Nikolay Spasov – CEO DBank
- Ms Reny Mitkova – Board Chair EOS
- Ms Mihaela Prakova – Manager Risk and Compliance, Vivacom
- Ms Vesna Sokolovska – Associate Director of Legal Affairs, Advisory and Operations; Compliance Officer; Data Protection Officer, Alkaloid AD Skopje
CLOSING
17:15 – 17:30
Closing Remarks
- Mr Anton Petrov