Sreepriya Balagopal
Sharjah,UAE
Summary
Detail-oriented professional with a strategic mindset and strong analytical skills. Proven expertise in project coordination, continual process improvement, and risk assessment. Adept at collaboration and communication, with a focus on action-oriented decision-making. Committed to leveraging skills for achieving organisational goals and driving success.
Overview
13
13
years of professional experience
4021
4021
years of post-secondary education
1
1
Certification
Work History
Associate Director- HRCU QCO and Oversight
Standard Chartered Bank
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
01.2024 - Current
- Undertake specialist reviews to test the validity and appropriateness of decisions, actions, and commentary on a sample of cases within both RST / HRCU processes at 2 LOD level to ensure compliance with all relevant policies, DOIs and best practice
- Share the best practices with regions/countries to ensure appropriate controls are implemented in a timely manner to address inherent risks and also provide inputs to assist in process improvement
- Perform sample review of the work undertaken by the QCO team each month to ensure QCO quality and consistency within the team
- Implement QCO process across HRCU teams covering i3, PEP and Sensitive client units
- Frequent interactions with key stakeholders (Regional Sanctions Teams, GSST, HRCU teams covering i3, PEP and Sensitive client unit, HRCU Programme & Governance Manager, and HRCU RAC)
- Lead the forums conducted by the team where case studies, consistency between the regional teams, best practices are discussed
- Active participation in defining the QCO methodology, severity matrix and QCO implementation for a new HRCU process
- Identified and highlighted gaps in a core application used by one of the HRCU teams
- Worked with the MI team in designing the new strategic MI for Name Screening processes
Associate- FCC Sanctions Operations
Standard Chartered Bank
10.2022 - 10.2023
- Ensure accurate and timely disposition of cash and trade transactions screening alerts in compliance with the relevant Sanctions Policies, Procedures and Departmental Operating Instructions for cash and trade screening alert investigation activities
- Support the business/functions/group/regions/countries with transactional queries ensuring timely and constructive responses
- Awareness of processes around sanctions true matches (coordination with SRE process) including reporting of breaches, Potential Circumvention Attempts, addition to and maintenance of internal lists and capturing of trends
- Support projects and initiatives (as nominated) involving transaction screening function ensuring risks are adequately highlighted and mitigated appropriately thereby enabling smooth implementation
- Continuously review the cash and trade transactions screening process sanctions controls and identify if changes and controls are required to better manage risk
- Make recommendations (and/or implement) to relevant stakeholders on possible risk management responses to identified risks and/or findings of concerns from investigations
- Assess risks arising from geographies / customers / transactions
- Conduct a root cause analysis on the control/other failures to ensure lessons are learned across the bank
- Provide intelligence (to internal forums) on specific clients, client-types and emerging risk typologies
- Identified concerns around a correspondent banking client in relation to payments rejected and RFI responses which was highlighted the respective advisory team
- Proposed updating the RFI queries in the RFI guidance documents with regards to specific scenarios in order to reduce the turn around time for the RFIs
Analyst- FCC Controls (Name Screening & Transaction Screening)
Standard Chartered Bank
06.2021 - 09.2022
- Day to day processing of Transaction Screening (TS) and Name Screening (NS) cases in line with AAA procedures and in a timely manner within agreed TAT’s whilst maintaining Quality Control/Quality Assurance results in line with Group and local expectations
- Support Country Head FCSO/Regional Head FCSO with any complex investigations as required
- Ensure timely initiation of any follow up actions to effectively process cases in TS and NS with clear narratives
- File internal reports to country FCC team for cases with Financial Crime red flags
- Highlight the risk identified to relevant stakeholders/ business segments
- Ensure that the risk is mitigated in the client’s CDD in the event of an adverse media or a PEP hit
- Address the cross-border screening queries without breaching the data confidentiality norms
- Trained the new joiners on the Name Screening process and performed QCP for their cases
- Perform FCC suspense account monthly reconciliation
- Active participation in ECM testing inline with the AAA process
Analyst- Triage Function
Standard Chartered Bank
Dubai
08.2017 - 06.2021
- Company Overview: FCC Controls, Dubai UAE
- Perform investigations on alerts and cases escalated from the bank’s operations hub in India
- Review internal reports from various business segments, taking decisions on investigation action and ensuring governance around the incoming work
- Experience of executing the Operational Risk controls for UAE FCC
- Prepared Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) for presentation to the UAE CMLCO for onward reporting to the Central Bank
- Demonstrated a good level of commitment to the team and volunteered to work on a wider range of complex cases to support the team goals and for personal development
- Maintained clarity and quality in the investigation reports with zero quality control findings
- Volunteered to explain the team’s working model to different stakeholders including regional colleagues and the bank’s operations hub in India
- Participated in mentorship calls with the hub to increase awareness and knowledge of UAE risks
- Identified and escalated the gaps across systems and controls to management, including the MLRO
- Provided training to team members and broader FCC teams on new systems
- FCC Controls, Dubai UAE
- Extensive review on a correspondent banking relationship
- This included hosting meetings with UAE Head of Financial Institutions, key seniors from the business and the MLRO resulting in active risk management of more than 150 linked investigations
- Prepared an extensive investigations report and SAR, each of which were commended for their quality and effectiveness by Senior Management across the bank and Law Enforcement respectively
- Active participation in implementing a new system (Enterprise Case Management) and Detection Scenario testing
- For both projects, I ensured UAE requirements were considered to ensure smooth rollout and effective risk management
- Mentored and trained new joiners to the team including SCB Graduates to guide them on FCC Process and improve understanding of AML risk
- Trained the new joiners on manual case analysis
Analyst
Standard Chartered Bank
Dubai
04.2016 - 07.2017
- Company Overview: Regional Financial Crime Compliance, Dubai UAE
- Manage cases and prepare Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) as part of transaction surveillance (TS) in Detica for countries such as Bahrain, Oman, Iraq, Qatar, and Jordan
- Review unusual transactions escalated from the Hub and Business units to determine if reporting is warranted and act as the interface between the Hub and Regional FCC team
- Regional Financial Crime Compliance, Dubai UAE
- Active role in new system testing for Enterprise Case Management (ECM)
- Identified potential issues and gaps in the new system
- Involved in different levels UAT, UVT and Go-live
- Updated the weekly Regional FCC meeting pack for the weekly team meeting conducted with Senior Management
- Supported Country UAE team in clearing backlogs and Intelligence Exchange cleanup activities
- Prepared a report on an Oman based client and its beneficial owner for concerns related to corruption and tax evasion
- The report was discussed in the financial crime risk committee, chaired by Country CEO
- Provided training to the Team (Regional FCC) on the new Enterprise Case Management (ECM) system
Analyst
Standard Chartered Bank
Dubai
09.2015 - 03.2016
- Company Overview: Financial Crime Compliance, Dubai, UAE
- Manage cases and prepare Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) as part of transaction surveillance (TS) in Detica
- Manage escalations from the business
- Review unusual transactions escalated from the Hub and Business units to determine if reporting is warranted and act as the interface between the Hub and Country FCC team
- Report where appropriate to the relevant authorities
- Financial Crime Compliance, Dubai, UAE
- Managed Central Bank feedback for the SARs reported, keeping a track of the feedback and actions required of business and compliance teams
- Prepared the procedure document for the process, which was used to train the FCC team currently handling the activity
- Part of the SME Exit project following the DFSA order issued on the bank
Senior Process Associate
RBS Business Services Private Ltd
02.2012 - 11.2014
- Review of alerts on transactions (grouped under a scenario) for potential money laundering activities with respect to the standards set by the bank
- Initiate inquiry and case recommendation, if necessary, to the stake holders
- Identifying and reviewing suspicious activities by ensuring all Group Standards of Conduct are followed, to protect and enhance the reputation of The Royal Bank of Scotland with the regulators and avoiding significant loss
- Ensuring accurate monitoring of alerts done within specified turnaround time (SLA)
- Providing effective training to the new joiners in transaction monitoring and investigations
- Identify, report, and escalate significant issues in timely manner
- Engaged in user-acceptance testing phase to help the team in implementing new projects
- Usage of third-party applications and agencies like World-Check, Lexis Nexis etc
- To investigate the transactions and separate the illegitimate transactions from the genuine transactions
- Assisted the media monitoring team in reviewing accounts for money laundering concerns
- Prepared training material for the new joiners and trained them on the process
- Received appreciation emails from the stakeholders for maintaining 100% QCO result consecutively
Education
Master’s - Finance And Human Resource
SRM University
Chennai2011
Bachelor’s - Computer Science
Dr. N.G.P College of Arts And Science
Coimbatore2009
Skills
- Eye for detail
- Project coordination
- Continual process improvement
- Strategic mindset
- Action oriented
- Analytical skill
- Collaboration
- Risk assessment
- Communication
- Decision-Making proficiency
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Certification
- Certified in KYC/AML, Indian Institute of Banking and Finance, 2012
- Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (ACAMS), 2018, Recertification in process
- Completed 6 modules in Certified FCC Academy (CFCCA)
- Foundation of US Sanctions, K2 Integrity, 2023
Custom
Available upon request
Languages
English
Fluent
Malayalam
Native
Tamil
Native
Hindi
Beginner
Timeline
Associate Director- HRCU QCO and Oversight
Standard Chartered Bank
01.2024 - Current
Associate- FCC Sanctions Operations
Standard Chartered Bank
10.2022 - 10.2023
Analyst- FCC Controls (Name Screening & Transaction Screening)
Standard Chartered Bank
06.2021 - 09.2022
Analyst- Triage Function
Standard Chartered Bank
08.2017 - 06.2021
Analyst
Standard Chartered Bank
04.2016 - 07.2017
Analyst
Standard Chartered Bank
09.2015 - 03.2016
Senior Process Associate
RBS Business Services Private Ltd
02.2012 - 11.2014
- Certified in KYC/AML, Indian Institute of Banking and Finance, 2012
- Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (ACAMS), 2018, Recertification in process
- Completed 6 modules in Certified FCC Academy (CFCCA)
- Foundation of US Sanctions, K2 Integrity, 2023
Master’s - Finance And Human Resource
SRM University
Bachelor’s - Computer Science
Dr. N.G.P College of Arts And Science
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