Ghazala Sarwar
Dubai
Summary
UAE Professional with 8+ Years of Internal Audit，Compliance, Quality Assurance, risk management, Accounting & Governance Fraud risk experience. My Confidence, ability to be a hard worker and a team player, aptitude for working under pressure and effective communication skills with complete utilization of my education and experience will surely prove to be an asset to any organization.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Compliance & AML Officer
Al Sagr National Insurance
12.2023 - Current
- Assist in developing compliance initiatives and programs to comply with relevant legal and regulatory obligations
- Managing and implementing supervision as a second line to combat money laundering/terrorist financing ( AML/CTF )
- Develop and maintain anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing policies and procedures
- Help improve tools for monitoring, analyzing and reporting suspicious activity
- Identify and communicate any changes to legislation and other regulatory requirements relating to combating money laundering and terrorist financing
- Assist in the design, development and implementation of the risk assessment framework
- Provide oversight to the operational team, which serves as the first line of monitors and investigators into suspicious activities
- Providing relevant compliance reports and handing over reports of suspicious activities undertaken
- Ensure a detailed and prompt investigation into all AML/CFT incidents and cases
- Help identify any gaps in combating money laundering and terrorist financing and coordinate departments to fill those gaps
- Maintain proper record of all name checks from the system as well as manual name checks
- Develop and implement face-to-face training for employees in various business units as required
- Assist with overall compliance awareness
- Detecting transactions in financial crimes
- Review AML/CFT compliance program and processes to prevent financial crimes
- Aligning the AML/CFT framework in line with regulatory requirements and the ML/CFT risks faced by the entity
- Review and evaluate suspicious transactions and activities and the need to report these transactions and activities in the form of Suspicious Transaction Report ( STR ) and Suspicious Activity Report ( SAR ) to the Financial Intelligence Unit - Financial Intelligence Unit ( FIU )
- Providing various reports such as Funds Freeze Report ( FFR ), Partial Name Matching Report ( PNMR ), High Risk Country Report ( HRC ), High Risk Country Activity Report ( HRCA ), Precious Metals and Gemstone Dealers Report ( DPMSR ) and Real Estate Activity Report ( REAR )
- ) to the Financial Information Unit
- Training employees, making them aware of the rules and regulations of anti-money laundering, and training them on the best international practices to confront the risks of financial crimes
- Review and evaluate data on suspicious accounts that may hide money laundering operations and report the data to the Financial Intelligence Unit as the case may be.
Compliance Officer
SEPCOIII Shandong Electric Power Construction Corp
08.2021 - 11.2023
- Monitoring and reviewing company practices to ensure compliance Culture is adhere with regulatory requirements
- Conduct regular compliance audits and risk assessments
- Preparing compliance reports for senior management and regulatory bodies
- Assisting in the developing, implementing, and maintaining of compliance programs and policies
- Stay updated with changes in relevant laws and regulations affecting the financial services industry & Central Bank
- Training and awareness programs for employees to promote a culture of compliance within the organization
- Collaborating with other departments to address compliance-related issues and provide guidance on compliance matters.
Internal Compliance Auditor
Arabtec Engineering Services LLC
08.2005 - 05.2017
- Check in the preparation and maintenance of the company for IMS (ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 31000 and ISO 45001) Certification
- Check the effectiveness of the Integrated Management System and the implementation of the policies and procedures in the IMS to attain company objectives
- Prepare Standard Operating Procedures and other system requirements in consultation with the various departments, recommend improvement to existing procedures and standardizes forms used in preparation to and as a requirement for System certification
- Checking the compliance and quality of documents, Maintaining a list and files of documents
- Check the effectiveness of the Integrated Management System and the implementation of existing policies and procedures necessary for the attainment of company objectives
- Assist in drawing up strategies and action plans to attain objectives and effectively implement the formulated corrective and preventive actions
- Preparing Internal Audit Schedules
- Preparing Non Conformity & Observation Reports as per specific standards
- Recommend measures on improving the Integrated Management System and maintain the Company's Integrated Management System
- Preparing Continual Improvement reports of the departments
- Communicating awareness to all individuals of the organization on the IMS Standards and other existing policies and procedures of the company thru trainings and presentations
- Attending Meetings with Auditees to develop an understanding of business processes
- Providing support and guidance to management on how to handle new opportunities
- Preparing Reports to highlight issues and problems and distributing the reports to the relevant people
- Making Internal Audit Report along with highlighting Car & NCR
- Preparing Management Review Report as per requirement of the Standards ISO: 9001:2015, 14001:2018, 45001:2018 & 31000:2018.
- Developed auditing program to address risks and evaluate regulatory requirements.
- Performed internal audits of financial and departmental operations, developing risk assessments and conducting process walkthroughs for compliance with documented processes.
- Documented auditing information utilizing corporate system.
- Planned annual audits, evaluating controls across national and international offices.
- Explained risk and compliance concepts to managers and executives.
- Trained newly hired employees on company processes, procedures and deadlines.
- Evaluated company's policies to determine how well standards adhered to best practices.
- Collaborated with internal and external stakeholders, auditors and legal counsel to confirm compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
- Identified, investigated and documented compliance violations and recommended corrective measures.
- Prepared and submitted regulatory filings in timely manner.
- Conducted periodic compliance audits and reviews to identify areas of improvement.
- Evaluated and monitored supplier and partner relationships to support compliance.
- Maintained up-to-date knowledge of applicable laws and regulations.
- Collected detailed notes on investigations and other communication to adhere to legal requirements and enhance recordkeeping.
- Advised clients on compliance fraud and investigations, as well as potential remedies and required actions.
- Investigated locations to confirm license data, conducted background checked and assessed premises for compliance with licensing requirements.
- Determined licensing eligibility by examining test results and comparing against established structures.
- Prepared reports for templates and maintained compliance database.
- Performed over [Number] compliance audits per month.
- Participated in various training and development programs.
- Analyzed all audit results and resolved all compliance issues.
- Performed regular compliance reviews and audits, identifying non-compliance issues.
- Established and monitored compliance procedures to provide consistent implementation across departments.
Financial Crime Compliance Officer
Standard Chartered Bank
10.2013 - 01.2017
- Perform quality assurance on alert and cases (disposed of by Transaction Monitoring and Customer Name Screening teams in FCC) in line with Group Standards on Quality Assurance
- Additional responsibilities include Quality Assurance reviews and issue validations
- Identify errors and error trends which impact the quality of work (Alerts & Cases) dispositions and provide guidance and support to the FCR team to develop rectification plans on error trends
- Preparation of Quality Assurance MI and dashboards that are presented in the FCC Committee and other Business Governance forums
- Assist the Quality Assurance Manager and the Head FCC Governance in quality assurance reviews performed within FCC and in other Business Units
- Responsible for tracking the results of quality assurance reviews and remedial action(s) in the QA database Maintain and keep updated the action item tracker for the FCC Governance function
- Assist the FCC Quality Assurance Manager in the development and implementation of corrective actions for identified error trends and issues
- Maintain accurate audit trails (documentation & electronic) for all quality assurance reviews
- In conjunction with the MI and Reporting function, contribute to the development of Information Management metrics and reports Stakeholders Relations
- Ensure active, responsive and effective stakeholder management both within FCC and with the broader Business areas
- Work closely with the FCC Transaction Monitoring and Customer Name Screening teams to ensure timely action taken and to ensure no TAT breaches
- Collaborate with essential stakeholders to develop and deliver solutions to combat money laundering and financial crime
- An additional responsibility includes Quality Assurance reviews and Audit issue validations
- Quality Assurance check on ABC (Anti Bribery Corruption)
- Maintained and track on All Issues highlighted by GIA to overcome the issues and provide report on monthly basis
- Make a health check on SAR reporting and maintained all records for taking appropriate actions on Post SAR Activity.
Compliance Assistant
Johnson & Johnson Private Limited
01.2011 - 03.2012
- Managed practical action plans to respond to audit discoveries and compliance violations.
- Developed and maintained compliance database, tracking all compliance activities and documents.
- Collaborated with sales and marketing departments and other business units to address indications of improper sales practices and market conduct violations.
- Assisted with internal and external audits to confirm compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
- Identified, investigated and documented compliance violations and recommended corrective measures.
- Maintained up-to-date knowledge of applicable laws and regulations.
- Kept informed regarding pending industry changes, trends or best practices.
- Warned violators of infractions or penalties.
- Developed and implemented corrective action plans for non-compliance issues.
- Assisted with development of compliance objectives and strategies.
Education
AML & Regulatory Compliance -
ACAMS AML CERTIFICATION
Zabeel Institute - Bur Dubai11.2023
Bachelor of Commerce: Commerce - Accounting & Finance -
Govt. Commerce & Economics College
10.2018
CMA - Post Graduate -
Institute of Cost & Management Accountancy of Pakistan
06.2012
Skills
- Computer knowledge: MS- Office (MS Word, Microsoft Visio，Excel & Power point)
- Compliance Inspections
- Maintaining Compliance with Regulator Compliance
- Compliance Training & Create Awareness
- Financial Crime Protection using the World Check System
- Governance - Strengthening the Governance of Skills Systems
- Fraud Risk Management, Awareness ,Prevention, Detection & Investigation
- Leadership,Training Skills & Presentation Skills
- Internal Quality & Compliance Audits
- Internal Audit Procedures & Internal Auditing
- Internal Policy Compliance & Internal Controls Compliance
- Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines
- Able to multitask in fast-paced environments
Certification
- CSDDD Training Camp – Risk Analysis, Prioritization & Red Flags.
- Training for monitoring customers and transactions – UBO
- EU’s corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive CSDDD (Impact EU and non - EU companies and how to prepare)
- Training - Secret to Successful Governance
Timeline
Compliance & AML Officer
Al Sagr National Insurance
12.2023 - Current
Compliance Officer
SEPCOIII Shandong Electric Power Construction Corp
08.2021 - 11.2023
Financial Crime Compliance Officer
Standard Chartered Bank
10.2013 - 01.2017
Compliance Assistant
Johnson & Johnson Private Limited
01.2011 - 03.2012
Internal Compliance Auditor
Arabtec Engineering Services LLC
08.2005 - 05.2017
AML & Regulatory Compliance -
ACAMS AML CERTIFICATION
Bachelor of Commerce: Commerce - Accounting & Finance -
Govt. Commerce & Economics College
CMA - Post Graduate -
Institute of Cost & Management Accountancy of Pakistan
- CSDDD Training Camp – Risk Analysis, Prioritization & Red Flags.
- Training for monitoring customers and transactions – UBO
- EU’s corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive CSDDD (Impact EU and non - EU companies and how to prepare)
- Training - Secret to Successful Governance
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