After success with a consulting company, Kastleway Group is taking another step forward by opening a registered law firm and recruiting a Bermudian attorney.

Monika Adams launched Kastleway Compliance to give businesses the ability to hire a consultant or in-house legal counsel with a focus on risk management and regulatory compliance.

Now the group is expanding with the creation of the law firm Kastleway, giving it the ability to provide legal advice and consulting services “to ensure regulatory compliance with the Bermuda legal framework in place to prevent, detect and deter financial crime”.

Ms Adams described Kastleway as “a boutique law firm focused on regulatory compliance”. It is registered with the Bermuda Bar Association and Barristers and Accountants AML/ATF board.

Bermudian Alexa Virdi, who is soon to receive a Doctorate of Law from Oxford, is joining the team as a consultant and attorney. She was a legal consultant with the Bermuda Monetary Authority’s legal services and enforcement department, and counsel with the National Anti-Money Laundering Committee advising on compliance with FATF standards and international sanctions regime.

Kastleway Group’s expansion comes in time for the audit season, when annual anti-money laundering/anti-terrorist financing audits are required from many businesses. This is one of the group’s areas of expertise.

Ms Adams has a background in legal services, financial regulations and coding, and has worked as a data scientist and patent examiner dealing with inventions in genetics, and using algorithms for analysing big data. She switched to the law profession before joining the BMA, where she was involved in AML/ATF regualtions and compliance.

Ms Adams also worked at law firm Appleby in a dual role as the head of the Bermuda compliance department and corporate attorney, advising on regulatory compliance, cryptoassets and intellectual property matters.

As the compliance space grew, she launched Kastleway Compliance, part of the Kastleway Group.

Ms Adams said it was always the aim to have a law firm as part of the group, which is based in the Par-la-Ville Road. Reasons for the addition include the ability to provide “reliable legal advice to address regulatory enforcement, failures or breaches in anti-money laundering, anti-terrorist financing, sanctions prevention policies and procedures”.

She noted that law firms are also within the scope of AML/ATF oversight and must comply with the associated obligations, and said: “Who better to train a lawyer, but a lawyer specialised in AML/ATF”.

Further details about Kastleway and its services are available by e-mailing monika.adams@kastleway.com or visiting the website www.kastleway.com