UAE Deputy MLRO

About the Role:
As UAE Deputy MLRO, you will support the UAE Head of Investigations and UAE MLRO in maintaining an effective, risk-based AML framework across the company’s UAE operations. You will contribute to the identification, assessment, and mitigation of money laundering, terrorist financing, and wider financial crime risks in line with applicable UAE laws, regulations, and the company Group standards. This role requires strong investigative judgment, regulatory awareness, and the ability to provide effective challenge. You will work across Compliance, Legal, Operations, business teams, and regional stakeholders to ensure AML risks are escalated appropriately, suspicious activity is reported within required timelines, and control weaknesses are addressed through effective governance and issue management.

Responsibilities:
AML investigations and suspicious activity reporting

• Oversee investigations involving potentially suspicious customers, transactions, accounts, and relationships.
• Ensure investigations are risk-based, well documented, evidence-led, and completed within applicable service-level agreements.
• Review customer profiles, CDD, and enhanced due diligence records, transaction activity, communications, adverse media, and relevant external intelligence.
• Support decisions on whether activity should be escalated for SAR/STR consideration.
• Support the preparation, quality review, sign-off, and filing of SARs/STRs with the relevant UAE authorities, where required.
• Ensure decisions are clearly reasoned, appropriately approved, and supported by a complete audit trail.
• Identify recurring typologies, control gaps, and emerging risks arising from investigations.
  UAE AML regulatory compliance
• Support compliance with applicable UAE AML laws, regulations, and regulatory expectations, including requirements issued by the Central Bank of the UAE and other relevant authorities.
• Monitor changes in UAE AML requirements and help assess their impact on the company policies, procedures, and controls.
• Support the implementation of UAE-specific requirements through country addenda, guidance, and operating procedures.
• Provide practical advice to stakeholders on AML obligations, escalation requirements, and risk-based decision-making.
• Help ensure regulatory reporting and information requests are handled accurately, consistently, and within prescribed deadlines.
  Transaction Monitoring and financial crime controls
• Act as a country-level risk steward for Transaction Monitoring.
• Support the effective implementation, review, and ongoing enhancement of transaction-monitoring controls.
• Assess whether monitoring scenarios, thresholds, and alert-handling processes remain appropriate for the UAE risk environment.
• Review management information and thematic trends to identify potential weaknesses or areas requiring further investigation.
• Work with relevant teams to address false positives, missed risks, operational delays, and control deficiencies.
• Support the assessment of financial crime typologies relevant to UAE customers, products, services, and corridors.
  Governance, reporting, and management information
• Support the UAE AML Plan and associated governance forums.
• Prepare clear and accurate reporting on investigations, SAR/STR activity, case volumes, aging, reporting timeliness, emerging risks, and remediation progress.
• Maintain reliable KPIs, KRIs, and management information for senior management and relevant committees.
• Escalate material risks, overdue actions, control failures, and regulatory concerns promptly.
• Track issues through to resolution and challenge remediation plans where they don’t adequately address the underlying risk.
• Contribute to country, regional, and Group-level financial crime reporting.
  Policy, procedures, and risk advice
• Support the development and periodic review of UAE AML policies, procedures, and country-specific requirements.
• Interpret the company Group standards in the context of UAE legal and regulatory obligations.
• Provide advice on customer risk, transaction risk, investigative standards, escalation routes, and suspicious activity reporting.
• Promote consistent, proportionate, and defensible decision-making across the organization.
• Help embed lessons learned from investigations, assurance reviews, regulatory feedback, and industry developments.
  Audit, assurance, and regulatory engagement
• Coordinate responses to internal audit, external assurance, compliance testing, and regulatory reviews.
• Ensure information provided to auditors and regulators is complete, accurate, appropriately governed, and delivered on time.
• Support the preparation of responses to regulatory requests, information notices, and follow-up actions.
• Track findings and remediation commitments, providing effective challenge where required.
• Assist with regulatory meetings and demonstrate the effectiveness of the company’s AML governance and control framework.

Requirements:

• A graduation degree is essential for obtaining a work permit. If your university certificate is from outside the UAE, up-to-date attestations and equivalency are also mandatory (Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications Issued Outside The UAE).
• Significant experience in AML, financial crime compliance, investigations, or a related risk-management role within financial services.
• Practical experience of complex AML investigations and suspicious activity reporting.
• Strong knowledge of UAE AML laws, regulations, and regulatory expectations, including applicable Central Bank of the UAE requirements.
• Experience with transaction monitoring, customer risk assessment, CDD, and enhanced due diligence.
• A strong understanding of SAR/STR decision-making, documentation standards, and confidentiality obligations.
• Experience producing management information, risk reporting, KPIs, and governance materials.
• The ability to analyze large volumes of information, identify material risks, and make clear, evidence-based recommendations.
• Confidence engaging with senior stakeholders, auditors, regulators, and cross-border teams.
• Sound judgment, independence, and the ability to manage sensitive information appropriately.
• Relevant professional qualifications, such as ACAMS or another recognized AML, compliance, risk, or financial crime qualification, are advantageous.
• A university degree, which is essential for obtaining a UAE work permit. Qualifications issued outside the UAE must have current attestation and equivalency in line with UAE requirements.

Benefits:
The company is committed to building a culture where all employees are valued, respected, and their opinions count. We provide a workplace that supports continuous professional development, flexible working, and opportunities to grow within an inclusive and diverse environment.