Shariga Gopal

AML / KYC / Financial Crime investigations professional with 10+ years in banking and financial services, specializing in transaction monitoring, investigative reporting, and risk identification. Skilled in customer due diligence support and Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD), World-Check and PEP screening, sanctions and adverse media review, and identifying structuring and anomaly indicators. Experienced in executing risk-based escalations, preparing audit-ready investigative narratives and evidentiary files, and coordinating with cross-functional stakeholders to support regulatory compliance, SAR/STR documentation, card operations, and dispute resolution within SLA-driven environments.

Proven ability in reviewing customer transactions and account activity, identifying unusual patterns and potential compliance concerns, escalating higher-risk matters, and preparing clear, audit-ready case documentation in regulated environments. Known for sound judgment, confidentiality, attention to detail, and effective coordination with cross-functional teams to support compliance, risk management, and operational efficiency.

Sales Associate at Rocky Mountain Chocolate (2025-10 – 2026-04)

• Processed point-of-sale cash, debit, and credit transactions, maintaining a zero-variance register balance through accurate tender handling and reconciliation procedures.
• Conducted daily inventory cycle counts to improve stock accuracy, prevent shrinkage, and support supply ordering.
• Protected customer PCI payment data, ensuring 100% adherence to data-handling requirements through controlled access to transaction records.
• Reconciled daily sales registers and compiled batch summaries to improve end-of-day reporting accuracy via structured verification and archival for management review.

Manager - Investigative Reporting at HSBC Electronic Data Processing Lanka Pvt Ltd. (2021-07 – 2023-11)

• Conducted risk-based AML/KYC investigations on high-volume cross-border accounts, managing 60+ complex cases per month by identifying financial crime indicators and prioritizing risk-based escalations.
• Analyzed customer transaction histories and transaction monitoring data to complete Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) for accounts flagged for anomalous velocity or structuring, assessing patterns and account structures.
• Performed World-Check screening and internal platform reviews for sanctions, PEPs, and adverse media, documenting risk findings and mitigation measures to reduce institutional exposure.
• Prepared audit-ready investigative narratives and maintained evidentiary record-keeping aligned to SLAs, improving Quality Assurance outcomes.

Assistant Manager at Standard Chartered Bank (2018-11 – 2019-12)

• Supervised credit card transaction flows and maintenance, monitoring daily operational execution and exception handling to ensure compliance with internal controls.
• Investigated escalated high-risk transactional anomalies by assessing dispute histories and chargeback requests to identify first-party and third-party fraud indicators.
• Conducted operational risk reviews of card operations, identified process vulnerabilities and executed remediation actions to reduce transaction processing errors.
• Resolved high-priority client escalations within 24-hour SLAs by coordinating operations and compliance units to complete end-to-end fraud management and resolution.

Assistant Relationship Manager at DFCC Bank PLC (2018-03 – 2018-11)

• Supported card operations and customer service requests by coordinating cross-functional inquiries and ensuring accurate follow-through, improving response turnaround.
• Facilitated retail client onboarding by performing identity verification and capturing initial KYC data to improve completeness of customer profiles.
• Reviewed account documentation and escalated non-compliant files after identifying missing information and unverified ownership structures, reducing onboarding risk.
• Monitored account movements for unusual transactions by comparing activity to historical patterns and initiating internal inquiries when deviations were detected.

Post Graduate Diploma in Global Business Management (Honours) – Seneca College

Master of Business Administration in MBA – University of Suffolk

Bachelor of Business Administration in BBA – Northwood University