ESCP ALUMNI magazine - Special Issue 2022 - 53

Career ❙ Interview
Are you focusing on governance and
financial integrity issues during the
COVID crisis?
Absolutely, our message to governments during
the crisis has been clear: in this time of crisis,
please spend whatever is needed. But spend
wisely and keep your receipts. And we are taking
several steps to ensure, as best as we can, that
IMF financing are not misused and that financial
help reaches those in need.
Tackling corruption and money laundering is
necessary during the current pandemic crisis and
in current global context of unemployment and
rising inequality, skepticism towards traditional
institutions seen as favoring insiders; and tax
evasion, corruption, and money laundering
scandals. It is even more macro-critical now
than ever before. In this time of crisis, it is
more important now than ever to ensure that
scarce resources are used to protect lives and
livelihoods. We have been working remotely
from home since March for long hours to
ensure that our members are adopting and
implementing transparency and accountability
measures to prevent the misuse of COVID
related spending.
What is your position today?
Since September 2020, I became a deputy unit
chief, I moved from individual contributor to
a a managerial position that presents its own
challenges. In that group, we are around
30 staff, counsels and financial sector experts.
We also work closely with other IMF staff, other
international organizations (e.g., World Bank,
Financial Action Task Force (FATF), United
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, OECD, and
others), our country members representatives,
and the civil society.
What does a normal day at work look
like for you?
The job is very demanding and requires dealing
with complex issues related to our 190 members
with short deadlines. We have to adjust to deal
with different contexts and risks. The political
and economic context is important for successful
governance and financial integrity reforms.
Such reforms would often require enhancing
transparency and accountability, updating laws
and regulations, enhancing the governance,
independence and capabilities of key economic
institutions, and strengthening the prevention
and enforcement against economic criminal
activities.
Does your job require traveling?
Since I joined the IMF, I have travelled
extensively. I often traveled to engage in
discussions with our counterparts (e.g., Ministry
of Finance, Central Banks, FIUs, Anti-Corruption
Institutions), and provide technical assistance
and help them design and implement the AML/
CFT laws and regulations.
I have enjoyed the travels to new places and
learning about history, culture, and meeting
people from different background. However,
since March 2020 and when the COVID crisis
started, we have been conducting all our
engagements with country official virtually
from Washington DC. This is very timely for me
because it allows me to spend more time with
my family in Washington D.C.
You've always wanted to work on
those issues?
Not really. I started working on fighting money
laundering and financial crimes by coincidence.
As a fresh graduate from the Law school, I
wanted to join the central bank but they were
recruiting the FIU and I have ended there.
Working there and my ESCP/ESA Masters in
Finance helped me understand how complex
the money laundering, corruption, and tax
evasion operations are and the significant risk
they present. After learning about these issues
at a domestic level in Lebanon, I learned about
the international standards in this area and was
keen on finding out about their application in
different countries and contexts. That's how
I joined the IMF where I have been working
for the last 13 years. My passion, high-level
of commitment and deep admiration to the
organization's agenda in helping our members
improving financial integrity, good governance,
and anti-corruption has grown significantly
since.
When you look back at your career
today, what makes you proud?
The mission, the public service that I'm delivering
at the IMF. I see myself as an international public
servant focused on macro-critical governance
and financial integrity issues. We serve the
institution and our member countries from the
perspective of maintaining the economic and
financial stability, and contributing to strong,
inclusive, and sustainable growth that preserves
lives and livelihoods. That makes me proud of
what I am doing.
❙
5 dates:
* Born in 1979 in Lebanon
* Graduated with a law
degree in 2002.
* Joined the Lebanese
Central Bank in 2003
* Completed the ESCP Masters
in Finance in 2007.
* Joined the IMF in 2007.
ESCP Alumni Magazine Special issue ❙ 2022
❙ 53
ESCP ALUMNI magazine - Special Issue 2022

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