MTRA Annual Conference 2026

Advises on anti-money laundering and sanctions regulatory compliance matters.

Melissa advises banks, broker-dealers, investment advisers, funds, insurance companies and money services businesses, including those involved in global e-commerce and virtual currency, on the anti-money laundering and sanctions regulations, rules, and related issues governing their investment and business activities.

She has particular experience with issues arising out of the Bank Secrecy Act, as amended by the USA PATRIOT Act, the AML Act of 2020, and the Corporate Transparency Act.

Before joining McDermott Will & Schulte, Melissa was an attorney-advisor with the US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). At FinCEN, she assisted in the development of anti-money laundering regulations and guidance and served as counsel on enforcement actions involving issues such as failure to implement and maintain an adequate anti-money laundering compliance program, failure to register as a money services business and failure to maintain confidentiality of suspicious activity reports.

In recognition of Melissa’s significant accomplishments during her Treasury career, Melissa received the Secretary’s Meritorious Service Award, which honors individuals whose achievements are substantial and significantly advance the Treasury Department’s mission.

She is recognized as a “Rising Star” in Washington DC Super Lawyers.

Nishi Gupta is a regulatory advisor to cryptocurrency and blockchain companies. He has more than a decade of experience leading legal and compliance teams at a digital bank, FinTech companies, financial services corporations, and software companies. Prior to joining the firm, Nishi was the general counsel and chief compliance officer at a leading FinTech bank.

Leveraging his significant regulatory, financial technology, and crypto industry experience, Nishi provides strategic counsel to companies and individuals on matters ranging from money transmission licensing, payment regulation, and financial crime compliance, to advising on token launches, stablecoin issuance, decentralized finance applications, and getting novel crypto products out into the market quickly and compliantly. In addition, Nishi has significant industry operations experience, including leading and managing transaction monitoring, rule development, financial crime investigations, sanctions compliance, and compliance data and technology development teams.

As a member of the industry’s only crypto-exclusive team whose members spend 100% of their time on crypto-related matters, Nishi combines his regulatory knowledge with on the ground industry experience to provide actionable and practical counsel.

An active board member of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) New York Chapter, Nishi has also presented on crypto anti-money laundering and other compliance topics at several ACAMS events. He began his career as an investigative analyst in the Investigation Division of the New York County District Attorney’s Office.

Adam J. Barazani advises fintech companies and private equity firms in complex transactions, regulatory compliance, and enforcement matters across the payments industry. He has advised on matters involving e-commerce platforms, cross-border and domestic money transmitters, B2B and commercial payments providers, rewards and prepaid card programs, payroll solutions, digital wallets, cryptocurrency exchanges, and emerging payments companies.

Adam guides clients on state-by-state licensing and regulatory frameworks, product development and structuring, and ongoing compliance obligations. In that capacity, he advises on money transmission licensure, multistate reporting, financial regulatory requirements, commercial lending and merchant cash advance regulation, and the rollout of new payments and lending products.

He has significant experience with acquisitions, investments, and internal restructurings involving payments companies, including matters requiring complex and creative structuring to address state change-in-control filing requirements and investor ownership thresholds. In this role, Adam conducts regulatory diligence and helps lead change-in-control processes on a nationwide basis in connection with high-value M&A and strategic investments in the fintech and payments sectors.