Interview with Manuel Fajardo, Founder & President of Aria Compliance, CryptoUK’s Newest Member
CryptoUK is pleased to welcome Aria Compliance as our newest member. Aria Compliance is a specialist compliance and internal control consultancy supporting financial services firms across areas including cryptoassets, anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing, international sanctions, financial promotions, regulatory applications, and compliance frameworks.
Its Founder, Manuel Fajardo, brings more than 15 years of in-house compliance experience spanning France, the UK, and the US. His career has included global roles in investment management and, more recently, advising digital asset and financial services firms on financial crime controls, registration and licensing, and conducting independent assessments of control frameworks and Skilled Person reviews.
In our latest member interview, CryptoUK Membership and Business Development Manager Nathan Trickey speaks with Manuel about his move from traditional finance into digital assets, what firms need to demonstrate as the UK’s crypto regulatory framework develops, and the experience Aria Compliance hopes to contribute to the CryptoUK community.
From traditional finance to digital assets
Manuel began his career in asset management, working on a wide range of compliance topics, including some that were relatively recent at the time, like market abuse and sanctions, and the development of control frameworks across different jurisdictions. That experience of designing and applying frameworks to emerging regulatory requirements became one of the reasons he was drawn to digital assets.
In the interview, he explains that crypto presented many of the same questions on a new scale: which elements of existing financial services regulation can be adapted, where new controls are needed, and how firms operating internationally can respond to different regulatory regimes.
His experience across France, the UK, and the US has also shaped his view that regulatory regimes often have more in common than separates them. For firms considering the UK market, that can make existing work completed for other jurisdictions a useful starting point, although requirements will still need to be adapted to the UK framework.
Authorisation is only the beginning
A central theme of the discussion is the difference between having policies that meet regulatory requirements on paper and demonstrating that those policies work in practice.
Drawing on his experience advising firms through registration and licensing, as well as leading FCA Skilled Person reviews, Manuel points to resourcing, governance, control testing, and documentation of decision-making as areas regulators will examine closely.
For firms preparing for authorisation, the implication is clear: the application itself is only one part of readiness. Firms also need to be able to show that their compliance framework is properly resourced, understood by senior management, operating as intended, and supported by evidence.
Manuel also discusses lessons from regulatory processes in France and the importance of constructive engagement between firms and regulators. He points to clearer guidance, pre-submission engagement, and greater transparency around application requirements as practical measures that can make the process more predictable for well-prepared firms.
Why Aria Compliance joined CryptoUK
For Manuel, joining CryptoUK is also a return to a community he already knows. He previously participated through an earlier role, including contributing to working groups and consultation responses.
Through Aria Compliance, he hopes to bring practical experience of implementing compliance frameworks, working across UK and EU regulatory regimes, and addressing financial crime risks. He sees industry collaboration and the sharing of good practice as particularly valuable while the UK’s approach to digital asset regulation continues to develop.
We are delighted to welcome Manuel and Aria Compliance to CryptoUK and look forward to their contribution to our membership, working groups, and wider policy discussions.
