Fayçal Lounes

Fayçal Lounes is the founder of Hodemia Consulting, an Algiers-based advisory, training and executive coaching firm, and the author of the analysis published on Compliance Algeria. For nearly twenty years he has advised banks, financial institutions, companies and boards on regulatory compliance, anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT), risk management and governance.

He built most of his career with major international firms. At EY he worked in Luxembourg, San Francisco and London, with banking and financial groups subject to some of the most demanding regulators. He then joined KPMG in the Middle East as Director of Regulatory & Compliance Services, leading compliance, KYC remediation and control framework assessment engagements for institutions across the Gulf region.

This combined European and Middle Eastern experience shapes his approach: start from what supervisors and international partners actually expect, then turn it into proportionate frameworks that teams can apply and executives can understand. In Algeria, his work covers customer risk classification, customer and beneficial ownership due diligence, suspicious transaction reporting to the CTRF, the structuring of compliance functions and the role of boards in risk oversight.

His working method is consistent from one engagement to the next. It starts with an objective baseline, based on document review, interviews with staff and sample testing of files. It continues with a risk-based action plan, presented to senior management and the board, with named owners and realistic deadlines. It ends with staff training and follow-up of actions, because a compliance framework is only as good as its daily application by the people who serve customers, sign contracts and approve payments.

He pays particular attention to proportionality. A regional bank, an insurer, a notary's office and a fast-growing fintech do not face the same risks or have the same resources, and their frameworks should reflect this. His aim is always to help each organisation meet its legal obligations while keeping its business running smoothly.

As a certified coach, he also supports executives and leadership teams through new roles, difficult decisions and change. He sees compliance first and foremost as a leadership issue: without senior management setting the example, the best procedures remain a dead letter.

A trainer and academic, he leads training courses and seminars on compliance, business ethics and AML/CFT in Algeria, France and the MENA region, with a strong focus on case studies, practical dilemmas and peer learning.

Through Compliance Algeria, his goal is simple: to make reliable, practical information on compliance in Algeria available in French and English, based only on verified texts.

Training courses and seminars

AML/CFT training and compliance seminars for executives, compliance teams and boards. Training & seminars →