Jack D. Smith is the founding Executive Director of RGI. He previously served as the director of litigation for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in Washington, D.C. and was the founding director of the International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) in Basel, Switzerland. Over a period of 16 years Mr. Smith directed the FDIC’s worldwide recoveries of a record US$6 billion lost by failed financial institutions due to negligence and fraud. He is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist and teaches International Money Laundering, Corruption and Terrorism at the George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C.
Tom Lasich is a founding Director of RGI. He is an international consultant and expert on anti-money laundering, training officials around the world on techniques to combat money laundering and recover assets. Tom previously served as Head of Training for the Basel Institute on Governance, International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR), in Basel, Switzerland where he designed, developed and conducted technical training programs for countries around the world. Prior to ICAR, Tom was a criminal investigator and manager with the U.S. Treasury Department where he conducted money laundering and financial investigations of organized crime members, major corporations and narcotics syndicates throughout the United States, Europe and the Pacific Rim. He also coordinated and delivered national anti-money laundering programs for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (the US Government’s law enforcement training arm). Tom is a contributing author to the publication Tracing Stolen Assets, which was released at the Conference of State Parties to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption in Doha, Qatar. As a professorial lecturer at the George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC, along with Prof. Smith, he teaches International Money Laundering, Corruption and Terrorism.
Hari Mulukutla is a founding Director of RGI. He is also a consulting Anti-Corruption, Asset Recovery and Data Management specialist. Hari has worked on projects for the United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC), World Bank Public Sector Governance, StAR initiative and GTZ (German Technical Cooperation) in Asia and Africa. Prior to that he was co-founder and Chief Information Officer, International Center for Asset Recovery, Basel Institute on Governance, Basel Switzerland. He is a contributing author to the publication Tracing Stolen Assets.
Michael Fagan served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) for the Eastern District of Missouri for twenty-five years, until February 2008, and now consults on domestic and transnational criminal law and procedure, anti-money laundering, counterterrorism, intelligence, and emergency planning issues. In addition to decades of gaining convictions in highly-sensitive and complex cases, Mike was the architect of proceedings resulting in approximately $150 million in forfeiture and tax judgments in favor of the United States. Selected as Coordinator of the Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council in 2001, Mike governed regional counterterror efforts in that role for over six years, and continues today as a Special Advisor to the Missouri Office of Homeland Security, as well as a member of the St. Louis Area Regional Response System Advisory Board. As an Adjunct Professor at Washington University School of Law, he presently teaches law school courses addressing International Money Laundering, Corruption, and Terrorism, as well as asset recovery. Additionally, since 2008, he has taught multiple undergraduate courses for Transportation Security Administration officials and has testified as an expert before federal and state legislative committees. During the prior fifteen years, he frequently lectured at the DOJ’s National Advocacy Center and, at various times, Mike lectured at international, law school, corporate, law enforcement, and college training sessions.
Bob Pasley is a consultant on anti-money laundering and bank regulatory matters and has worked for the American Bankers Association, the International Monetary Fund, American Express and the law firm of Bryan Cave. He has been designated as an expert witness in several cases involving the Bank Secrecy Act, Ponzi schemes, banking procedures and safe and sound banking practices. Bob was with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency(OCC) for 30 years as a bank regulatory attorney and then as Assistant Director of the Enforcement and Compliance Division. After leaving the OCC, Bob worked for FinCEN for a year as a consultant and then for Bank of America as a Senior Vice President. He has lectured and written on anti-money laundering issues, is a member of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists(ACAMS) and is on the Board of ACAMS Washington D.C.
Z. Scott Birdwell was Assistant Director for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of International Affairs. He managed the SEC’s international technical assistance program that provided training for governments around the globe on business regulations and enforcement related topics. Mr. Birdwell also spent 10 years assisting the SEC’s Enforcement Division with international securities investigations, seeking and providing foreign assistance, including tracing and restraining proceeds of crime. Prior to the SEC, Mr. Birdwell spent 10 years as a trial lawyer at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in the aftermath of the US banking crisis where he argued numerous banking cases before federal district and appellate courts.
Alexa Fong Drubay coordinates anti-corruption projects for RGI. She speaks 5 languages (English, German, Swiss-German, French and Mandarin Chinese), and has lived and traveled extensively throughout the US, Europe and China. From 2003-2006, she worked as an interpreter for Johns Hopkins International Patient Services Division, Baltimore, Maryland. She was instrumental in the creation of the International Centre for Asset Recovery in Basel, Switzerland in 2005-2006, and from 2007 -2009 she did cultural trainings as a China specialist for Aperian Global, Amsterdam, Netherlands. She is a graduate of the College of Notre Dame, Baltimore, Maryland and Le Cordon Bleu School of Classic French Cuisine, Paris France.
Matthew Draper is a scholar and attorney from Charlottesville, Virginia. His research interests include political economy, intellectual property and economic history. He received his B.A. in economics and government from William and Mary, and his J.D. from William and Mary Law School, where he studied copyright litigation and specialized in intellectual property, election law and the economic analysis of law. After law school, Matthew worked for five years as Executive Director of Payne, Ross and Associates, a marketing and public relations firm in Charlottesville, VA. He is currently co-writing a book on the history of corruption, and the role it has played in the collapse of civilizations.
Darke Kejue Zheng is a technical, statistical, and legal specialist. He has recently helped develop an online educational platform for anti-corruption specialists designed by Streamhouse. Darke has a degree in Economics from the University of Chicago, and is a graduate of the George Washington University Law School ( 2015), where he served on the George Washington International Law Review. Darke has lived extensively in China and is a native speaker of English and Mandarin Chinese.
Erasmo Maldonado has a BA in Psychology from the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León in the northern state of Nuevo León in Mexico, and is an RGI specialist in the psychology of corruption. His focus is on the social psychology factors underlying developmental programs, including ethics, attitudes, beliefs, culture of lawfulness and their relations to behavior. He is also skilled in English/Spanish translations and video editing.