Compliance Officer

Position Summary

The Compliance Officer is responsible for the day-to-day execution of the Company's compliance programme, with primary responsibility for customer onboarding, AML/CFT and financial crime compliance, regulatory reporting, policy governance, and compliance monitoring. The role ensures that the Company's operations comply with all applicable legal, regulatory, and internal requirements while supporting business growth through a risk-based and commercially practical approach.

The Compliance Officer will work closely with Business Development, Operations, Product, Legal, Risk, and Senior Management to identify, assess, and mitigate regulatory and financial crime risks.

Key Responsibilities

1. Client Onboarding

Lead and manage the compliance review of prospective individual and corporate customers through out the onboarding lifecycle.

Customer Due Diligence (CDD)

• Review and approve customer onboarding applications in accordance with the Company's AML/CFT framework.
• Perform Customer Due Diligence (CDD), Simplified Due Diligence (SDD), and Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) based on customer risk profiles.
• Assess customer risk ratings using the Company's risk-based methodology.
• Verify customer identity, beneficial ownership, ownership and control structures, and authorised representatives.
• Assess the legitimacy of customer business activities and intended use of the Company's products and services.
• Review customer screening results, including sanctions, politically exposed persons (PEPs), adverse media, and other financial crime indicators.
• Assess Source of Wealth (SOW) and Source of Funds (SOF) information and supporting documentation.
• Evaluate complex ownership structures, trusts, nominee arrangements, and high-risk jurisdictions.
• Ensure onboarding files are complete, accurate, and adequately documented before approval.
• Escalate higher-risk relationships to the Head of Compliance or MLRO for approval where required.

Ongoing CustomerReview

• Conduct periodic and trigger-based customer reviews.
• Perform remediation of customer records to ensure compliance with changing regulatory requirements.
• Review changes in ownership, business activities, jurisdictions, or customer risk profiles.
• Support customer offboarding decisions where financial crime or regulatory risks cannot be appropriately mitigated.

2. AML/CFT and Financial Crime Compliance

Support the implementation and continuous enhancement of the Company's AML/CFT and financial crime compliance framework.

AML/CFT Operations

• Conduct AML/CFT reviews in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and internal policies.
• Investigate unusual customer activities, alerts, and potential financial crime risks.
• Review transaction monitoring alerts and perform investigations into suspicious transactions.
• Escalate suspicious activities and assist in the preparation of Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) or Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), where applicable.
• Review sanctions screening matches and determine appropriate disposition.
• Assess risks relating to terrorist financing, proliferation financing, fraud, bribery and corruption, tax evasion, and other predicate offences.
• Support implementation of AML/CFT controls across new products, payment flows, and digital asset services.

Financial Crime Risk Management

• Perform customer and product risk assessments.
• Review higher-risk customer categories, including money service businesses, payment institutions, virtual asset service providers, high-net-worth individuals, and complex corporate structures.
• Assess risks associated with cross-border transactions, correspondent relationships, and high-risk jurisdictions.
• Maintain accurate documentation supporting compliance decisions.
• Assist with financial crime investigations and regulatory enquiries.

3. Policy and Procedure Management

Support the development, implementation, maintenance, and continuous improvement of the Company's compliance framework.

Policy Governance

• Draft, review, and update compliance policies, procedures, standards, and operational guidelines.
• Ensure policies remain aligned with applicable laws, regulations, regulatory guidance, and industry best practices.
• Maintain documentation relating to:
• AML/CFT
• Sanctions Compliance
• Customer Due Diligence
• Enhanced Due Diligence
• Customer Risk Assessment
• Transaction Monitoring
• Travel Rule Compliance
• Complaints Handling
• Conflicts of Interest
• Outsourcing
• Record Retention
• Regulatory Compliance Framework
• Conduct regulatory gap analyses following new legislative or regulatory developments.
• Coordinate periodic policy reviews and ensure timely approvals by relevant governance committees.
• Maintain version control and policy registers.

4. Regulatory Returns and Regulatory Reporting

Coordinate the preparation and submission of regulatory returns, regulatory notifications, andperiodic compliance reporting.

Regulatory Reporting

• Prepare and submit regulatory returns within prescribed deadlines.
• Coordinate data collection across business functions to support regulatory submissions.
• Validate the completeness and accuracy of regulatory data.
• Maintain records supporting regulatory submissions.
• Prepare regulatory notifications relating to material incidents, breaches, operational events, or changes requiring regulatory notification.
• Liaise with regulators during routine supervisory engagements and information requests.
• Monitor reporting deadlines and maintain a regulatory reporting calendar.

Regulatory Change

• Monitor regulatory developments affecting the Company's business.
• Assess operational impact of regulatory changes.
• Support implementation of new regulatory requirements across the business.
• Maintain regulatory obligation registers and compliance trackers.

5. Reporting andGovernance

Support effective compliance governance by providing timely reporting, monitoring, and management

information.

ComplianceMonitoring

• Execute the Compliance Monitoring Programme (CMP).
• Perform thematic reviews and compliance testing.
• Monitor adherence to internal policies and regulatory requirements.
• Track remediation of compliance findings through to closure.
• Identify emerging compliance risks and recommend appropriate mitigation measures.

Management Reporting

• Prepare periodic compliance reports for Senior Management and governance committees.
• Report key compliance metrics, including:
• Customer onboarding statistics
• High-risk customer approvals
• AML investigations
• Sanctions screening outcomes
• STR/SAR statistics
• Regulatory breaches
• Compliance incidents
• Policy review status
• Compliance monitoring results
• Outstanding remediation actions
• Maintain compliance dashboards and key risk indicators (KRIs).
• Support Board and Committee reporting where required.

Governance

• Support internal and external audits.
• Coordinate responses to audit findings and regulatory observations.
• Maintain compliance registers, including:
• Regulatory Obligations Register, Breach Register, Compliance Monitoring Register, Regulatory Correspondence Register, Policy Register, Conflicts of Interest Register, Training Register
• Promote a strong culture of compliance across the organisation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Law, Business, Finance, Accounting, Risk Management, or a related discipline.
• Professional certifications such as CAMS, ICA Diploma/Advanced Certificate, or equivalent are highly desirable.

Experience

• Minimum 3–5 years' experience in compliance, AML/CFT, financial crime compliance, or regulatory compliance within a bank, payment institution, fintech, securities firm, or virtual asset service provider.
• Demonstrated experience in customer onboarding, corporate due diligence, beneficial ownership analysis, sanctions screening, and regulatory reporting.
• Experience drafting compliance policies and procedures and engaging with regulators is preferred.

Technical Competencies

• Strong knowledge of AML/CFT and sanctions regulations.
• Experience with customer due diligence and enhanced due diligence.
• Understanding of financial crime typologies and risk assessment methodologies.
• Familiarity with regulatory reporting obligations and governance frameworks.
• Experience with compliance screening and transaction monitoring systems.
• Excellent report writing, analytical, and documentation skills.
• Strong understanding of corporate ownership structures and beneficial ownership analysis.

Key Competencies

• Strong analytical and investigative mindset.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Sound judgement and decision-making.
• High attention to detail and organisational skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities under tight deadlines.
• Ability to engage effectively with regulators, auditors, and internal stakeholders.
• High ethical standards, integrity, and confidentiality.