Vasim Shaikh

AML & Financial Crime Compliance professional with over 11 years of banking experience, including 5+ years of specialised expertise across KYC/CDD & EDD reviews, sanctions screening, transaction monitoring, and fraud investigations, supported by extensive exposure to end-to-end compliance operations. Proven track record with leading financial institutions including Bandhan Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, IDFC First Bank, and Equitas Small Finance Bank. Strong understanding of AML/CFT regulatory frameworks, FATF recommendations, and risk-based approaches, with experience reviewing complex customer risk assessments, high-risk cases, guiding investigations, and ensuring timely escalation of suspicious activity.

Demonstrated ability to support compliance governance, regulatory examinations, internal audits, and policy implementation, while maintaining high-quality standards in high-volume environments. Seeking an AML / KYC / Financial Crime Compliance Analyst or Manager role within a bank, FinTech, or consulting organization.

Manager - Bandhan Bank Ltd

(2024-09 - 2026-01)

• Reviewed and investigated Level 2 transaction monitoring alerts, ensuring unusual or suspicious activity was appropriately analysed, documented, and closed or escalated in line with AML/CFT regulatory requirements.
• Conducted detailed adverse media, negative news, and open-source intelligence (OSINT) reviews to identify customers potentially linked to money laundering, terrorism financing, or other financial crimes.
• Assessed the authenticity and rationale of transactions by analysing customer profiles, business activities, and transaction patterns; initiated RFI requests where activity was inconsistent with expected behaviour.
• Oversaw KYC, CDD, EDD, and sanctions reviews across customer relationships and products, applying enhanced due diligence to high-risk customers.
• Compiled and maintained regulatory-compliant documentation and audit-ready evidence to support investigations, reviews, and potential STR/SAR filings.
• Conducted transaction monitoring investigations for NRI customers in line with UAE AML/CFT regulations and UK Money Laundering Regulations (MLR 2017), alongside internal financial crime policies.
• Supported knowledge sharing by mentoring new team members on transaction monitoring procedures, AML investigation techniques, and regulatory requirements.

Manager - Axis Bank Ltd

(2022-08 - 2024-09)

• Oversaw customer onboarding and ongoing due diligence for commercial banking clients, ensuring risk-based application of CDD and EDD in line with AML/CFT regulatory requirements.
• Reviewed and validated ownership and control structures, including identification of Senior Management Officials (SMO), Key Management personnel, and beneficial owners, using open-source and proprietary databases.
• Conducted and supervised negative media, sanctions, and PEP screening, ensuring timely escalation of potential matches and securing approvals from EDD, Sanctions, and PEP governance teams.
• Assessed and validated Source of Wealth (SOW) and Source of Funds (SOF) for commercial clients, escalating higher-risk cases for enhanced review.
• Led Enhanced Due Diligence reviews for high-risk customers, including complex corporate structures and cross-border exposure, using databases such as LexisNexis, Dow Jones, and Companies House (UK).
• Maintained customer records using KYC management systems such as Fenergo, and conducted adverse media screening using World-Check.
• Investigated cross-border transactions involving UAE and UK corridors for NRI customers, identifying deviations from expected behaviour and escalating potential suspicious activity for further review.
• Collaborated with Compliance, Operations, Relationship Managers, and other Lines of Business to resolve transaction monitoring alerts within regulatory timelines and internal SLAs.

Deputy Manager - HDFC Bank Ltd

(2020-01 - 2022-08)

• Identified and assessed OFAC and global sanctions risks for commercial banking clients, supporting compliance with international and local regulatory requirements.
• Reviewed and investigated payment-related Level 1 sanctions alerts, documenting public-source research and escalating potential matches per established procedures.
• Conducted sanctions screening against major regulatory lists including OFAC, United Nations, European Union, and other applicable authorities.
• Conducted comprehensive customer risk reviews, analysing nature of business, buyer-supplier relationships, and transaction behaviour to assess sanctions exposure.
• Conducted holistic KYC reviews across multiple banking products for NRI customers, ensuring profiles remained accurate and aligned with regulatory expectations throughout the customer lifecycle.
• Reviewed transactional activity against customer profiles, expected account behaviour, and source of funds to identify unusual patterns, initiating Request for Information (RFI) processes to validate transaction legitimacy.

Assistant Manager - Yes Bank Ltd

(2019-07 - 2020-01)

• Supported retail customer onboarding and account opening for Savings and Current Accounts, ensuring collection and verification of documentation in line with bank KYC requirements.
• Performed KYC/CDD on new retail, HNI, and small business accounts, reducing client onboarding turnaround time by 30% through streamlined documentation tracking.
• Built and maintained lead-tracking reports for pipeline management, activating 85% of sourced accounts within Month-1 (M1) through customer engagement initiatives; prepared monthly MIS and performance reports for senior management review.

Senior Officer - IDFC First Bank Ltd

(2018-03 - 2019-05)

• Handled CASA account acquisition and customer onboarding, ensuring adherence to basic KYC and documentation standards.
• Maintained customer profiles and supported periodic customer interactions, contributing to early-stage customer due diligence exposure.
• Coordinated with internal teams to resolve documentation gaps and onboarding queries.

Assistant Manager - Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd

(2017-04 - 2018-03)

• Managed customer onboarding, relationship management, and account servicing, ensuring compliance with bank onboarding processes.
• Supported initial KYC checks and customer profiling during account opening.

Sales Officer - HDFC Bank Ltd

(2014-11 - 2017-03)

• Managed new customer acquisition and account opening for Savings and Current Accounts, ensuring KYC documentation completeness and accuracy as part of onboarding workflows.
• Maintained customer records and supported ongoing relationship management.

Bachelor of Commerce - B.Com - North Maharashtra University (2010)