Manager, Financial Crime Compliance
Checkout.com
Total years of experience :17 years, 7 Months
• Handled the licensing application and helped Checkout.com to be the first international company to obtain a Category II License of Retail Payment Services Card Scheme (RPSCS) Regulation from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE).
• Successfully facilitated the licensing application (Category 4) with the Dubai Financial Services
Authority (DFSA) as Checkout.com's Compliance Officer & MLRO. Collaborated with internal
stakeholders to develop and implement essential policies and procedures, including AML Policy, Client Asset Policy and procedures, Data Protection Policy, Risk Management Policy, Complaint Handling Policy, IT Policy, and Remuneration Policy, aligning with licensing requirements.
• Actively participated in the licensing application (Major Payment Institution) process with the Saudi
Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Developed comprehensive KSA Compliance documentation to ensure compliance with SAMA's licensing requirements. Facilitated the recruitment of a Compliance Manager for KSA to provide the necessary support for the license submission.
• Engaged in the EMI (Electronic Money Institution) licensing process with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). Thoroughly reviewed and assessed the Pakistan Compliance documentation to ensure
compliance with SBP's licensing criteria. Facilitated the recruitment of a Compliance Manager for Pakistan to bolster support for the license submission.
• Offered detailed, practical, and timely guidance to the Senior Management of the MENAP (Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan) region. Promptly responded to all compliance inquiries within agreed timelines. Ensured comprehensive compliance monitoring activities, including client file reviews, watchlist screening, and others as required, to maintain adherence to expectations within the MENAP region.
• Managed and implemented a robust Compliance training program for the MENAP region. Ensured
timely completion of annual online courses by all staff members and provided focused training at least annually to individuals in designated roles.
Ensured compliance of Financial Crimes Compliance (FCC) systems with approved parameters and provided expert advice on AML initiatives, ensuring regulatory compliance for Xpress Money's digital solutions, products, and projects.
• Managed core functions, including Client Onboarding, Transaction Monitoring, and AML
Investigations Teams, overseeing global end-to-end KYC, CDD, event-driven alerts, EDD, and risk assessment processes for clients across banking, MSB, and FinTech sectors.
• Developed and disseminated written compliance policies and procedures, ensuring Board oversight
and conducting regular reviews and updates. Prepared management reports, annual compliance
testing plans, and action plans, meeting all timelines and ensuring timely submissions.
• Assumed the additional role of Deputy MLRO (Category 3C license) under FSRA in ADGM, successfully obtaining the license by collaborating with external consultants and regulators. Possess proficient knowledge of the goAML system and STR reporting alongside ongoing responsibilities.
• Migrated Watch List Filtering (WLF) Suspicious Activity Monitoring (SAM) & Customer Due Diligence (CDD) from proprietary tool to NICE Actimize application.
• Managed regulatory lists of World-Check in real-time and batch instances for improved system performance and effective screening of customers/transactions
• Handle various compliance projects including integration with online KYC verification vendors.
• Hands-on experience in both Standard & Premium Plus versions of World-Check Data File.
• Handle external audits, independent review by regulators and inspection by bankers.
• Conduct periodic internal reviews or audits to ensure that compliance procedures are followed. Evaluate testing procedures to meet the specifications of compliance monitoring programs.
- Monitor day to day transactions of the branch and collect relevant supporting documents (source of funds & purpose of remittance) for the identified suspicious cases.
- Any transactions that circumvent the guidelines have been put on hold and upon identifying suspicion, the same has been reported to Head-Compliance in the form of an internal suspicious transaction report (STR).
- Filing Large Volume Transactions reports (LVT), conduct sanity checks on customer’s KYC details captured in the system against KYC document, verify supporting documents collected for trade-related transactions.
- Provide transactional documents required by Head-Compliance in connection with the External Audit and co-operate with the Internal Audit team.
Specialisation in Management and Finance