Meet Crimebuster- Rozy Sanyal, CAMS, ICA

1.  Describe yourself and currently where you are located.

I am Rozy, Anti Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) and ICA Certified in Regulatory & Compliance from the International Compliance Association. Currently, I am in Hyderabad, India and working for one of the leading global Bank as part of KYC Digital, Operations, and Technology Learning.

2. How Many years of work experience you have and tell us about your employment history.

13+ years of comprehensive experience in Banking and Financial Services, with specialization in AML/KYC domain. During this professional journey, got the opportunity to work with one of the Big Fours along with some renowned organisations and Global Banks supporting diverse market segments like Retail Banking, Wholesale Banking and Investment Banking.

3. How does your typical day look like at your job?

My typical day starts with checking for the updates/current affairs (if any) to keep myself informed followed by planning my day and prioritising my tasks and deliverables.

Post planning and prioritization for the day, execution of actions and deliverables begins which usually includes the following:

1. Emails (reading, responding, requesting, follow-ups, etc)
2. Organizing & attending meetings, forums, sessions at various levels (team, stakeholders, functional, etc)
3. Performing tactical task related to any ongoing initiative (reviewing and developing training content, facilitating delivery sessions, training and knowledge gap assessment, etc)
4. Discussion and reviews with one -up, team and subordinates basis requirements   

4. Describe your knowledge and experiences in the field of financial crime detection and prevention field.

I have worked across various teams and process within the Financial Crime Compliance space and below listed are the few roles which I have performed in past:

1. Supported operational processes by identifying improvement areas & implementing measures as learning lead for site. Responsible for driving AML digital learning solutions
2. Managed Operations for analyst specialized in AML who were performing risk assessment on customer’s profiles as per AML norms and responsible to sanction funds post-first-level screening as per OFAC regulations for one of the Global Bank of Australia
3. Worked as Senior Consultant for risk consulting team and managed KYC and AML project for one of the Global Bank of UK. The project was for commercial banking and the objective was to complete the due diligence on company profile using trusted
4. Led the team for transaction monitoring and counter-terrorist financing for retail banking. The team was responsible for performing the due diligence on triggered alerts
5. Led the team for Transaction Threshold Reporting (TTRs) who was responsible to ensure all the manually filed TTRs are filed within a defined timeline to FIU (Financial Intelligence Unit) of the country

5. Why you want to/have chosen the career in AML/CFT?

Since my childhood, I have been fascinated with Super Heroes possessing supernatural powers and always dreamt of possessing some power to save the world. As I grew up, I realized that even knowledge is a kind of superpower that can be used to save mankind from disasters and devastations.

In the last 2 decades, terrorism has emerged has a huge unnatural disaster which has affected the entire world and while every nation has their own bodies to fight against this, AML & CTF is one common area which if being monitored and reported timely can prevent such disasters. This led to my aspirations of becoming a “SUPERHERO” by gaining knowledge in this domain to prevent terrorism and other associated crimes.    

In 2011, I got the opportunity to work on one of the AML remediation projects for UK bank while I was part of one of the big fours and there onwards my AML journey started. 

I strongly believe that “We all are Superheroes saving the world from financial crime”. 

This domain is very empowering, and you get the opportunity to do something new every day. Every case and scenario you work on is unique and by flagging it correctly you are jeopardizing the intentions of offenders and saving the community. 

6.  What are the challenges in this field you perceive to be? 

From a learning point of view, this is not a rule-based curriculum and is very subjective in nature. Expertise in this domain comes with experience and exposure and that is something which cannot be disseminated easily to build a task force; hence the availability of expert resources is a challenge.

Technology is evolving continuously; digital currency, FinTech, regulators, and banks are growing at an enormous speed and on the other hand, criminals are always one step ahead of us in circumventing our systems and controls. Keeping yourself updated and to have a 360-degree view is challenging at times.

7.  Do you have any suggestions for fellow compliance professionals? How one can upskill him/herself.

Learning is a never-ending process and continuously upskilling is the key to success in this domain. Experiential learning plays a critical role; hence, certification alone would not suffice. The following are the tips to upskill:

1. Start your day by reading news and current affairs
2. Ensure that you are investing time in reading articles daily related to this domain
3. Subscribe yourself for AML/KYC alerts
4. Build a Network in the same domain to gain more exposure

8. Do you dream big? Where you want to see yourself in the future?

Yes, I dream big and I strongly believe in 2 magical words, first - Believe in your Dreams and Be ready to walk extra miles to achieve them.

I have a dream and a vision to set up my own AML Learning space. I want to set up my own firm which would support AML learnings and would be providing readymade training solutions to other institutions globally.

9. What is your biggest achievement in life that still makes you feel proud of yourself?

My biggest achievement is yet to come, my aspiration is to be a superhero. If someday I will be able to detect and deter any financial crime activity by carrying out successful investigations that would be a proud moment for me.