Shahil Thakar

Senior Consultant

Shahil Thakar, Senior Consultant

Shahil’s love for yellow and blue doesn’t stop with Avyse—it also extends to his football team, AFC Wimbledon, where he holds a season ticket. Despite their questionable form, he manages to redeem himself as the proud captain of Avyse’s 5-a-side football team, often ending client meetings with a challenge to a match. To balance out this active lifestyle, he takes his quest to find the best cheesy chips in London very seriously and is often found asking colleagues for their recommendations.

Away from work, Shahil is lucky to have his ever-patient wife, Venetia, who never misses an opportunity to plan their next adventure. As a dentist, she’s no stranger to pulling teeth—but at home, it’s convincing Shahil to splurge on holidays that requires the real skill!

Meet Shahil

With over 13 years in financial crime risk management, Shahil has spent his career helping firms strengthen their systems and controls. He has spent significant time on secondments at both the FCA and with multiple regulated firms—giving him a well-rounded view of industry challenges. This blend of experience has helped him to understand the realities of regulation and develop practical ways to support firms in tackling financial crime risks.

Experience:

  • Shahil spent 18 months within the FCA’s Authorisation team as an AML specialist. This role involved him reviewing the FC frameworks of a range of firms with varying business models, assessing their compliance with both regulatory requirements and industry standards and interviewing applicant MLROs.

  • Shahil has significant experience working both on skilled person reviews as part of the s166 team and supporting firms who are the subject of the review. These perspectives allow him to offer practical recommendations and understand the challenges that firms face when developing and maintain a strong financial crime control environment.

  • As the Cryptoasset team lead at Avyse, Shahil supports firms in navigating the FCA registration process. His role includes preparing applications, challenging the design of controls, and conducting mock interviews with applicant MLROs.

  • Shahil has also played an active part in significant Trade Finance reviews. This has involved assessing the frameworks in place, conducting testing activities on a sample of transactions and providing tangible and proportionate recommendations.