Time to Act: Lebanon Chapter Hosts First-Ever Conference

The ACFE Lebanon Chapter held its first-ever fraud conference at Phoenicia Hotel in Beirut under the patronage of His Excellency Governor of Banque Du Liban, Mr. Riad Salame, October 6-7. The event was attended by more than 300 anti-fraud professionals representing the banking and financial sector, the big four accounting firms, insurance companies, the public sector, private sector and universities.

The theme of this year’s conference was “Time to Act.” Chapter leaders gathered anti-fraud professionals from around the country to create awareness about fraud and financial crimes in Lebanon, promote fraud detection and prevention education, and encourage networking.

The conference featured an opening ceremony with a special video message from ACFE president and CEO James D. Ratley, CFE, followed by two days of training with more than 10 sessions covering topics ranging from ethics, risk intelligence, effective governance, cyber-security and tools for effective controls.

In addition to Salame, other notable keynotes included Raphael Debbane, chairman of Debbane Saikali Group, Joseph El Fadl of Deloitte Middle East, and Dr. Mansour Bitar, board advisor to Bogofinance.

The event, which received coverage in Lebanese print and broadcast media, was the result of months of planning by chapter leaders.

“I would like to thank the ACFE Lebanon training committee, staff and volunteers for all of their hard work to make this event not only the largest anti-fraud conference in Lebanon, but the best,” chapter president Hussein Tarraf, CFE, said.

Below are some pictures from the event. See more photos at ACFE Lebanon’s Facebook page.