Suresh Babu M

Leveraging over 15+ years of experience, I bring a wealth of knowledge in financial crime compliance, control frameworks, risk assessment & management. I am detail-oriented and have a proven history of implementing effective programs. My leadership and expertise in stakeholder management, Client On-boarding, PEP, Sanction, Transaction Monitoring & Screening, Thematic Research Report writing, Mentoring and Training, analytical and critical thinking are essential in managing high-risk client relationships and ensuring compliance with financial regulations.

The essence of my professional pursuit is to fortify the integrity of financial systems and to embody the bank’s values of trust and security. My dedication to excellence in operational compliance is reflected through rigorous policy alignment and the strategic elevation of higher risk relationships, ensuring the bank’s adherence to the highest regulatory standards.

Senior Group Manager, Financial Crime Compliance | WNS | from Feb 2025 – till date (Client: Commercial Bank of Dubai)

• Assist in management of the work flow on a day-to-day basis, increasing operational quality/efficiency by providing improvement suggestion for front & back office support to all departments.
• Ensure that daily, weekly and monthly tick lists are effectively maintained and the commitments towards our internal and external customers are met according to Service Level Agreement (SLA’s)
• Ensure all activities are carried out as per the agreed SLAs.
• Drive continuous improvement and create value by delivering excellent customer experience.
• Ensure timely and effective communication is maintained with Internal as well as external customers taking utmost care in protecting the reputation of the financial institution
• Escalate identified risks to the onshore team with the mitigating factors.
• Ensure all the staffs are able to deliver the tasks assigned including on the job, technical & soft skill training and development.
• Review periodically the staff job functions and ensure that all staff within the unit is fully aware of all the process which would facilitate job rotation.

Roles &Responsibilities:

• A dynamic and results-oriented individual with extensive knowledge in client onboarding, due diligence, risk management, sanctions, and anti-bribery laws and regulations.
• Check on the quality of the Static Information and Source of Wealth if it meets all set standards for Account Opening, Maintenance and Trigger review.
• Review the other Due Diligence requirements such as adverse media findings, Sanctions link, Tax red flags, etc.
• Review global sanctions regulations and enforcement trends (e.g., OFAC, UN, EU, UK Sanctions), ensuring that compliance efforts were aligned with the latest standards.
• Determine and advice the frontline if other searches are needed to supplement those already done for Account Opening.
• Analyze the provided financial account details to identify any inconsistencies or potential risks. Use your specialized knowledge in compliance to ensure that all information aligns with regulatory requirements and the bank's standard. Advise on PvB CDD policy and procedures and applicable local laws and regulations.
• Advise on and escalate higher risk relationships and reputation risks arising from CDD to Compliance or Local Client Committee (LCC).
• Contribute to the implementation and controls for daily processes and assist with the update of procedures.
• Leverage on expertise to produce high quality SOW and complete Account Opening Pack to avoid reworks and to aid in faster turnaround time.
• Provide a final recommendation to proceed / not proceed on accounts submitted for Account Opening or Account Maintenance.
• Update the client's due diligence documentation. Ensure all information is current, accurate, and complies with both internal and external regulatory standards. Report any discrepancies and propose necessary amendments.

Roles &Responsibilities:

• Managed Asia hub on Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) for the high-value clients, ensuring 100% compliance with internal policies and regulatory requirements, reducing audit discrepancies by 5-10%.
• Streamlined CDD/EDD workflows, reducing processing times by 15% and increasing team efficiency by 10%.
• Providing advice to the front line on the classification and risk assessment of PEPs, Sanctions and high risk clients. This includes playing a central role assessing and evaluating clients escalated from country teams.
• Performed in-depth risk analysis to assess the exposure of clients and counterparties to sanctions and advised on appropriate risk mitigation measures.
• Responsible for ensuring adherence to all organizational policies, procedures and regulations. Performed regular reviews of existing policies and procedures to ensure that they meet all applicable standards.
• Provided guidance and advice to management on all compliance-related matters.
• Evaluating the specific financial crime risks associated with high risk clients. This will include providing direction on any extra due diligence, account reviews or transaction analysis that may need to be undertaken to enable a deeper understanding.
• Design control frameworks for each client that is designated as "Sensitive", which includes tailoring control options to the particular risks identified, ensuring that these are applied, and monitoring the client's activity on an ongoing basis to ensure that the financial crime risk remains within tolerance.
• Working with the business to agree the approach for such clients, and providing written recommendations to senior management and client committees. 
• Led oversight initiatives for high-risk correspondent banking clients, enhancing risk awareness and mitigation.
• Achieved 100% compliance with key policies, reinforcing the compliance framework and preventing regulatory breaches. Spearheaded policy development, assurance, and high-risk client review projects, enhancing operational effectiveness.
• Ensured global compliance consistency, elevating the global risk management framework. Influenced policy evolution with feedback, enhancing compliance standards and organizational adaptability to risk trends.
• Perform EDD by assessing risks arising from products / segments / geographies / customers / transactions.Identify intelligence for typology studies and risk mitigation plans.
• Identify financial crime risk indicators through various internal/external sources and the media; map and assess those risks, quantify the potential impact and escalate where necessary. Advise relevant stakeholders on outcomes of financial crime risks identification and assessment methodologies.
• Inform senior management of serious regulatory breaches (or where risk tolerances have been breached) promptly and Propose control improvements, enhancements and simplifications where appropriate.

• Performed SIX (Sensitive Intelligence Exchange) team activities involving Public-private partnerships on risk exposure with JMLIT&FMLIT for a period of 9 months.
• Prepared comprehensive reportsfocusing on Reputational Risk initiatives, thematic analyses, country risk evaluations, and emerging threats using media Intelligence. The primary objective of these reports was to detect and analyze critical adverse news related to Money laundering, Terrorist Financing, Terrorism, Corruption, Insider Trading, Politically Exposed Persons, Sanctioned entities. The findings were subsequently disseminated among various stakeholders within the Group.
• Analysed significant financial crime risk events to ensure that all connected parties, particularly cross-border are identified and reported at the appropriate levels internally as well as externally across all relevant jurisdictions.
• Performed in-depth risk analysis to assess the exposure of clients and counterparties to sanctions and advised on appropriate risk mitigation measures.
• Responsible for performing sanction review on clients who has exposure to sanction countries and investigating the business relationship of the client with Bank. Work with the list of customers with sanctions connections to consider additional controls relating to their payments.
• Manage end-to-end financial crime client investigations initiated by external sources (regulators, agencies, authorities or other external organisation), and internal events as applicable.
• Conducted regular assessments of country, industrial, and business risk ratings by thoroughly reviewing, analyzing, and implementing findings from reports issued by international organizations and conducting comprehensive searches through open media sources.
• Review and evaluate current compliance policies and practices. Identify areas for improvement and make recommendations that enhance the operational efficiency and integrity of financial systems within the bank.

• Managed a team of 15 employees, driving performance through clear goal setting, feedback, and development plans, resulting in a 110% increase in team productivity.
• Implemented team-building initiatives that improved cross-functional collaboration and morale, leading toa12% increase in team efficiency.
• Improved team retention by 89% year-over-year by fostering a positive culture of recognition, development, and work-life balance.
• Successfully conducted team meetings, one-on-ones, and performance feedback sessions to enhance employee engagement and achieve company goals.
• Conduct a thorough assessment of a client's risk profile based on the latest financial data and interactions. Evaluate the risk factors connected to their profile and suggest mitigation strategies to reduce potential exposure to the bank.
• Supported various Anti-Money Laundering (AML) processes, which might include suspicious activity investigations and reporting, currency transaction reporting, global sanctions screening, enhanced due diligence, or other AML processes.
• Functioned as a key contributor with demonstrated knowledge of AML/KYC issues, as well as broader functional knowledge.
• Fostered relationships with both internal clients and external stakeholders, including law enforcement, to improve the handling of sensitive matters.
• Collaborated with internal teams and stakeholders to address AML-related matters and support Unit Heads in developing controls and procedures relating to transaction monitoring.

• Responsible in analysing alerts generated by transaction monitoring system as well as other non-automated cases. Conduct, Investigate& identify customers for potential AML risk factors such as money laundering and terrorist financing activities and document findings from due diligence research.
• Examined alerts for correspondent banking transactions in high-risk jurisdictions.
• Reviewed compliance monitoring reports and other relevant documents to detect suspicious or unusual activity patterns.
• Conducted quality assurance checks on due diligence investigations.
• Worked on the implementation of sanctions-related automation tools, streamlining workflows and enhancing the accuracy of screening results.
• Suggested improvements to investigation protocols and recommended the use of industry-specific software for conducting investigations.

• Account opening - Performed account opening for Retail clients based on the legal KYC documents which are adhered to group policy norms.
• Transactions Filtering - Scrutinizing of transaction related to individual, sanctioned or embargoed entities in various geographies against global watch lists. Ensuring that all the transactions are filtered in accordance with established bank policies, procedures and regulatory requirements. Kept current with global sanctions regulations and enforcement trends (e.g., OFAC, UN, EU, UK Sanctions), ensuring that compliance efforts were aligned with the latest standards.
• Debt management and Fraud operation- Direct business banking - processing all accounts which are over drawn limit, controlled by business lending unit, processing the payments, sending advisories to customers. Select & return - processing the direct debits, standing orders, POS (point of sale), cheques that paid/ unpaid, re-claiming the unpaid loan payment and finally apply charges. 
• Retail Compliance- PPI- Ensure to process the insurance for the loan undertaken by the customer through legal guidelines.

Degree | Records | College

• Master of Business Administration (HR & MKTG) – 79% - Vel Tech University-2008
• Bachelor of Engineering (EIE) – 72 % - Kamaraj College of Engg.& Tech -2005