Senior Anti-Money Laundering Specialist

Job Title: Senior Anti-Money Laundering Specialist

Location: United Arab Emirates (Remote)

Employment Type: Full-Time

Work Arrangement: 100% Remote — Work From Home

Level: Senior

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced and detail-oriented Senior Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Specialist to support the development, implementation, and monitoring of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) controls. The successful candidate will help identify, assess, investigate, and mitigate financial crime risks while ensuring compliance with applicable UAE regulations, internal policies, and relevant international standards.

The ideal candidate will possess strong expertise in transaction monitoring, suspicious activity investigations, customer risk assessment, sanctions screening, and regulatory compliance. This role requires sound professional judgment, analytical thinking, meticulous documentation, and the ability to work independently in a fully remote environment while collaborating with compliance, risk, operations, and other business teams.

Key Responsibilities

• AML Compliance Monitoring: Monitor business activities and compliance processes to identify potential money laundering, terrorist financing, fraud, and other financial crime risks.
• Transaction Monitoring: Review transaction monitoring alerts, investigate unusual transaction patterns, and determine whether further escalation or investigation is required.
• Suspicious Activity Investigations: Conduct detailed investigations into potentially suspicious transactions, customer behavior, account activity, and financial relationships.
• Suspicious Transaction Reporting: Prepare clear, evidence-based investigation summaries and support the submission or escalation of suspicious transaction reports in accordance with applicable procedures and regulatory requirements.
• Customer Risk Assessment: Evaluate customer risk profiles based on business activities, geographic exposure, transaction behavior, ownership structures, and other relevant risk indicators.
• Enhanced Due Diligence: Support enhanced due diligence reviews involving high-risk customers, politically exposed persons (PEPs), complex corporate structures, and higher-risk jurisdictions.
• Sanctions Compliance: Review sanctions screening alerts, assess potential matches, and coordinate appropriate escalation and resolution in accordance with applicable sanctions requirements.
• AML Risk Assessment: Identify weaknesses in AML controls, assess emerging financial crime risks, and recommend proportionate mitigation measures.
• Regulatory Compliance: Support compliance with applicable UAE AML/CFT laws, relevant regulatory guidance, internal policies, and applicable international standards.
• Case Documentation: Maintain complete, accurate, and confidential investigation records, including supporting evidence, analytical findings, decisions, and escalation history.
• Policy and Procedure Management: Review AML policies, procedures, internal controls, and operational guidelines to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Quality Assurance: Conduct quality reviews of transaction monitoring cases, customer risk assessments, and investigation documentation to ensure consistency and accuracy.
• Audit and Regulatory Support: Prepare documentation and evidence for internal audits, external reviews, compliance testing, and regulatory examinations.
• Risk Reporting: Prepare periodic reports on transaction monitoring activity, investigation outcomes, suspicious activity trends, outstanding cases, and identified control weaknesses.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: Work with Compliance, Risk Management, Legal, Operations, Customer Due Diligence, and other relevant teams to address financial crime concerns.
• AML Systems and Data Analysis: Use transaction monitoring platforms, screening systems, case management tools, and data analysis techniques to identify suspicious patterns and improve investigation efficiency.
• Regulatory Developments: Monitor relevant regulatory updates, typologies, financial crime trends, and changes in AML/CFT expectations that may affect business operations.
• Process Improvement: Recommend improvements to alert handling, investigation workflows, risk assessment methodologies, reporting quality, and control effectiveness.
• Training and Guidance: Provide technical guidance to junior AML analysts and support awareness initiatives on suspicious activity indicators, escalation procedures, and compliance standards.
• Remote Team Coordination: Manage assigned cases, reporting responsibilities, and stakeholder communications effectively while meeting deadlines in a fully remote working environment.
  Qualifications and Experience
• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Banking, Law, Economics, Business Administration, or a related discipline.
• At least 5–8 years of relevant experience in anti-money laundering, financial crime compliance, transaction monitoring, investigations, or regulatory compliance.
• Strong understanding of AML/CFT principles, customer due diligence, enhanced due diligence, and risk-based compliance frameworks.
• Practical experience investigating suspicious transactions, unusual account activity, and potential financial crime indicators.
• Knowledge of suspicious transaction reporting processes, internal escalation requirements, and investigation documentation standards.
• Familiarity with applicable UAE AML/CFT legislation, regulatory expectations, and relevant international standards.
• Experience reviewing sanctions screening alerts, politically exposed persons, adverse media, and high-risk customer relationships.
• Understanding of customer risk rating methodologies, beneficial ownership structures, source of funds, and source of wealth assessments.
• Experience using transaction monitoring systems, AML screening platforms, case management applications, and compliance reporting tools.
• Strong analytical and investigative skills, including the ability to identify patterns, assess evidence, and reach well-supported conclusions.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to prepare clear investigation reports and communicate findings to stakeholders.
• High standards of professional integrity, confidentiality, accuracy, and independent judgment.
• Ability to manage multiple investigations simultaneously and prioritize cases according to risk and urgency.
• Professional certifications such as CAMS, ICA AML qualifications, or other recognized financial crime compliance credentials are advantageous.
• Ability to work independently, maintain productivity, and collaborate effectively with geographically distributed teams.
  Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Performance will be evaluated against agreed compliance, investigation quality, and operational objectives, including:

• Alert Review Timeliness: Review and assess assigned transaction monitoring alerts within established service-level timelines.
• Investigation Quality: Maintain accurate, thorough, and evidence-based investigation records and conclusions.
• Regulatory Compliance: Ensure assigned activities follow applicable AML/CFT requirements and internal compliance procedures.
• Suspicious Activity Escalation: Escalate potentially suspicious activity promptly and appropriately in accordance with established procedures.
• Case Resolution Efficiency: Manage investigation workloads effectively while prioritizing higher-risk cases.
• Risk Assessment Accuracy: Produce consistent and well-supported customer and transaction risk assessments.
• Documentation Quality: Maintain complete, accurate, confidential, and audit-ready case files.
• Screening Effectiveness: Review and resolve sanctions and other screening alerts accurately, with appropriate escalation of material concerns.
• Quality Assurance Results: Minimize avoidable investigation errors, incomplete records, and repeat quality findings.
• Audit Readiness: Support timely responses to audit requests and resolution of identified compliance deficiencies.
• Reporting Accuracy: Deliver reliable AML reports and analysis within agreed deadlines.
• Process Improvement: Contribute to measurable improvements in investigation workflows, alert handling, and control effectiveness.
• Team Collaboration: Maintain effective communication with compliance stakeholders and support consistent application of AML procedures.
  What We Offer
• Competitive compensation based on qualifications, experience, and relevant expertise.
• 100% remote working arrangement, allowing you to perform your responsibilities from home.
• Opportunities to work on complex financial crime investigations and AML compliance initiatives.
• Professional development opportunities and support for relevant AML certifications.
• Exposure to financial crime risk management, transaction monitoring, regulatory compliance, and control improvement projects.
• A collaborative environment that values integrity, accountability, analytical thinking, and professional excellence.
• Opportunities for career progression into AML management, financial crime investigations, compliance advisory, or broader risk management roles.
• The opportunity to contribute to stronger financial crime prevention practices and effective compliance controls.
  How to Apply

Interested candidates should submit an updated CV and a brief cover letter highlighting their AML experience, transaction monitoring expertise, investigative capabilities, and knowledge of relevant regulatory requirements.

Applicants are encouraged to include examples of complex investigations handled, suspicious activity cases escalated, AML control improvements implemented, or contributions to audit and regulatory reviews.

Email Subject Line: Application – Senior Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (UAE Remote)

We welcome applications from qualified professionals who demonstrate strong financial crime compliance expertise, sound analytical judgment, and a commitment to maintaining effective anti-money laundering controls.