Dr. Max Bernt is TaxBit’s Managing Director for Europe and Board Member of the International Association for Trusted Blockchain Applications – INATBA. He holds a PhD in transnational criminal law and related policy-making from the University of Vienna and the University of Queensland, Australia (joint degree), focusing on transnational collaboration and information reporting in the fight against organized crime. Moreover, Max has extensive practical background in criminal law, working at a renowned law firm in Vienna as a criminal defense attorney for over 8 years and, based on his achievements, was also appointed to the Austrian judge exam, which he passed in 2020 with distinction. Max lectures at different Universities, has published numerous articles with well-known publishers and regularly acts as an advisor and speaker in the area of crypto-related regulation. In his positions, he has been heavily involved in the European Union’s work on the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), the crypto-related tax reporting Directive DAC8, the recent anti-money laundering package as well as the OECD’s work on the Crypto Asset Reporting Framework (CARF). In 2024, Max was appointed GBBC’s Global Ambassador for Taxation.
Joanna Summers is the Chief Recovery Officer at Asset Reality, a fin-tech organization responsible for developing the world’s first end-to-end solution for asset recovery, from training to investigating crypto fraud to managing and realizing seized digital assets. Prior to her role with Asset Reality, Joanna headed the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), Asset Forfeiture Division Complex Assets Unit. There, her unit oversaw the custody, management, and disposal of all ongoing business and complex financial instruments subject to forfeiture. Joanna and her team built the USMS Cryptocurrency program starting with the Silk Road Bitcoin seizure, ultimately innovating a streamlined liquidation process through an exchange. Joanna holds a Masters in Finance from The Johns Hopkins University Carey School of Business.
Thomas (TJ) Abernathy III is the Senior Vice President, Government Affairs and Sales for Asset Reality, a fin-tech organization responsible for developing the world’s first end-to-end solution for asset recovery, from training to investigating crypto fraud to managing and realizing seized digital assets. A retired Assistant Chief Inspector, United States Marshals Service (USMS), TJ brings more than 25 years of experience in law enforcement, specializing in international forfeitures having worked on the largest asset recovery cases in the world such as 1MDB and Russian Oligarchs. Through his work, he has trained agencies all over the world helping several foreign government agencies develop new asset forfeiture and confiscation procedures and supported numerous others in navigating complex international asset recovery and realization. A consultant for the UNODC since 2014 as well as The World Bank, TJ represented the United States in the Camden Asset Recovery Informal Network (CARIN) from 2012 to his retirement from the USMS in July 2022, and has been credited with the creation of the Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network for the Caribbean (ARIN-CARIB).