Thistle Initiatives is delighted to announce the appointment of Michael Knight-Robson, who has joined the business as Partner within the Financial Crime team, working alongside fellow Partner Jessica Cath. Michael brings over a decade of consultancy and in-house experience across the financial crime compliance landscape, with particular expertise in audits and assurance.
In his new role, Michael will focus on building out Thistle Initiative’s Financial Crime Audit and Assurance services, an area where he has delivered significant work for financial services firms, including leading more than 20 s166 Skilled Person reviews.
Speaking on his appointment, Michael said:
"I’m delighted to have joined Thistle Initiatives as its new Financial Crime Partner, working alongside Jessica Cath. At Thistle I’ll be focusing on continuing the work started by Jess and the team, and strengthening our Financial Crime Audit and Assurance offering – an area I’ve spent much of my career in. Over the past seven years, I’ve led more than 20 s166 Skilled Person reviews, alongside numerous AML audits for e-money institutions and payments firms following a request from its banking partner. I’ve also supported the entirety of the financial services sector in benchmarking their financial crime compliance frameworks against regulatory expectations, and benchmarking against peers.
With more than a decade in consultancy, and prior in-house experience in both 1LOD and 2LOD financial crime compliance roles, I have developed not only a deep knowledge of UK financial crime requirements, but also the practical insight of how firms can implement them in a way that’s risk-based, proportionate, and sustainable.
What drew me to Thistle is its ambition and agility. This is a firm that’s not only growing but constantly evolving, keeping pace with one of the most dynamic and challenging areas of regulation."
The appointment comes at a pivotal time, with financial crime regulation continuing to evolve at pace. Recent developments include the UK Government’s updated Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment, new FCA guidance on the treatment of PEPs, and the introduction of the ‘Failure to Prevent Fraud’ offence. Michael’s depth of experience in navigating regulatory change will further strengthen Thistle’s ability to support clients in adapting their frameworks with confidence.
Michael has joined as a Partner in the Financial Crime team, working alongside Jessica Cath. With over 15 years’ experience in financial crime compliance, he was most recently a Director at BDO, where he built a strong reputation for leading s166 Skilled Person reviews and providing firms with proportionate, risk-based advice to stay compliant. His career also includes senior roles at Bovill, Lloyds Banking Group and Investec, giving him practical, well-rounded expertise to help firms strengthen their financial crime compliance frameworks.