Charles advises government, financial services and mining clients on both contentious and non-contentious regulatory and compliance matters.

Charles has extensive experience advising on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) regulation, targeted financial sanctions, M&A involving regulated entities and transactions relating to the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB). His contentious experience includes assisting clients with regulatory investigations and enforcement in relation to a range of Commonwealth, State and foreign laws and regulations.

Recent highlights include advising:

• A global bank on the requirement under AML/CTF regulation to report cross-border movements of bank guarantees and cheques
• An energy company on the application of AML/CTF regulation to energy derivatives traded as a hedge against fluctuations in electricity and other commodity prices
• A cryptocurrency exchange on the application of AML/CTF regulation to the client's business model and the circumstances in which the client could rely on customer due diligence procedures undertaken by a reliable third party
• An asset manager on the application of AML/CTF regulation to the client as lender of record in syndicated lending arrangements and as sub-participant in a separate participation agreement
• A financial leasing company on the requirement under AML/CTF regulation to report international funds transfer instructions in circumstances where the transaction is facilitated by banks
• An international law firm on the application of Australian sanctions laws to making funds available to certain parties in Iran
• A global mining company on the application of Australian sanctions laws to a shipment of metallurgical coal to Iran, and
• A railway freight operator on the application of Australian sanctions laws to the ownership structure of a magnetite iron ore miner involving multiple countries subject to targeted financial sanctions.

He also recently completed a long-term secondment as a senior lawyer in the regulatory legal team of ANZ Banking Group.