Virusha Nimalan

Transaction Monitoring and Financial Crime Compliance professional with over 4 years of continuous experience (Aug 2020 – May 2026) across AML investigations, transaction monitoring, and compliance operations within multinational banking environments, supporting regional and cross-border teams.

Experience gained from leading financial institutions including Standard Chartered, Maybank, and UOB, with demonstrated strengths in investigation, judgement, productivity tracking, quality assurance, and peer support. Notably achieved early confirmation during probation due to strong performance, rapid process mastery, and consistent delivery in high-volume monitoring environments. Additionally, founder and owner of Ashnez Ventures since May 2026, books, operating an automated books e-commerce and dropshipping business with responsibility for ensuring sufficient account funding and overseeing business continuity.

Specialist – Financial Crime Surveillance Operations (Transaction Monitoring NCB) at Standard Chartered GBS (2025-05 – 2026-05)

• End-to-End Transaction Monitoring Execution: Conducted detailed reviews of complex transactions to identify suspicious activity, apply risk-based judgement, and ensure full compliance with global AML policies and regulatory expectations while maintaining investigation accuracy.
• Productivity & Turnaround Management: Tracked daily productivity performance, prioritised alert queues effectively, and consistently met required turnaround times without compromising investigation quality or documentation standards.
• Quality Assurance & Peer Review Support: Reviewed peer cases to identify quality gaps and recurring errors, provided constructive guidance to colleagues, and contributed to improved overall team accuracy and consistency.
• Risk Assessment & Escalation Judgement: Assessed customer behaviour, transaction patterns, and escalation thresholds to support defensible alert disposition and appropriate escalation decisions in line with internal governance standards.
• Audit Readiness & Governance Compliance: Maintained high standards of case documentation, regulatory alignment, and audit preparedness, supporting management in meeting internal controls, governance requirements, and compliance expectations.
• Independent Alert Disposition: Made final decisions on case closure, escalation and RFIs; investigated an average of 8 cases daily, consistently passing QA and meeting all SLAs.
• Mandatory Screening & SAR Support: Performed PEP and adverse media checks, cross-checked sanctions information provided by the Sanctions Team, and prepared investigation narratives and recommendations for the SAR team.
• RFI Management: Requested additional information for mismatches, incomplete customer details and outdated KYC records without performing full KYC/CDD reviews.
• Designated Internal Quality Review: Officially assigned to review team investigations before formal QC/QA, identifying documentation gaps and potential errors.
• Director & Team Reporting Support: Worked closely with the Director, extracted case details from ECM and used Excel to prepare daily productivity monitoring and case completion reports for the entire team.

Analyst – Compliance Control Room at Standard Chartered GBS (2024-05 – 2025-05)

• Compliance Monitoring & Breach Detection: Conducted detailed account and transaction reviews to identify compliance breaches, assess risk exposure, and mitigate potential financial crime issues within defined regulatory timelines.
• Personal Dealing & Due Diligence Reviews: Performed structured personal dealing assessments and due diligence reviews in accordance with internal bank standards, ensuring consistent application of compliance policies and controls.
• Breach Notification & Governance Enforcement: Issued breach notifications for non-compliance cases, supporting governance enforcement, strengthening policy awareness, and promoting accountability across staff.
• Process Guidance & Knowledge Sharing: Delivered clear process storytelling and technical guidance to colleagues, improving assessment understanding, review accuracy, and consistency in compliance decision-making.
• Confidential Data Handling & Integrity: Managed sensitive financial and employee information under strict data protection requirements, maintaining confidentiality, data integrity, and compliance with internal control standards.
• Remediation & Backlog Clearance: Resolved outstanding compliance cases and liaised with internal stakeholders to clarify and close pending matters.
• Employee Trading & Approvals: Checked personal account dealing and trade approval eligibility against internal system restrictions and staff positions; issued breach notifications when required.

Analyst – Financial Crime Surveillance Unit (FCSU) at Standard Chartered GBS (2021-09 – 2022-11)

• Risk Assessment & Customer Profiling: Conducted risk assessments on high- and low-risk customers to support early identification of financial crime exposure and ensure appropriate monitoring and control measures were applied.
• Transaction Alert Investigation & Case Documentation: Investigated transaction alerts with high accuracy, prepared clear and defensible case documentation, and supported appropriate escalation or closure decisions in line with AML standards.
• Rapid Process Mastery & Knowledge Sharing: Mastered end-to-end monitoring workflows within a short timeframe and delivered structured process presentations to stakeholders to support understanding and consistent application.
• Global Collaboration & Performance Consistency: Collaborated effectively with global colleagues in remote working environments and consistently met monthly productivity and quality targets while maintaining investigation accuracy.

Transaction Monitoring Analyst at MAYBANK (2020-08 – 2021-09)

• Transaction Alert Investigation & Risk Identification: Reviewed and investigated transaction alerts to identify red flags and potential AML breaches in line with regulatory requirements and internal AML procedures.
• Case Documentation & Escalation Support: Prepared detailed case files, risk assessments, and investigation summaries to support accurate escalation decisions and maintain audit-ready documentation.
• Data Analysis & Pattern Recognition: Analysed transactional data using spreadsheets to identify unusual patterns and trends, supporting well-reasoned investigation conclusions.
• High-Volume Workload Management: Maintained high investigation accuracy while managing alert volumes under tight operational deadlines, demonstrating strong time management and attention to detail.

Founder (Freelancing) at Ashnez Ventures (2026-05 – Present)

• Business Ownership & Management: Established and own a books e-commerce and automated dropshipping business operating through TikTok Shop.
• Automated Business Operations: Oversee automated order processing and fulfilment through an integrated dropshipping system.
• Financial Account Management: Ensure sufficient account funding to support uninterrupted business transactions and operations.
• Supplier Coordination: Maintain supplier arrangements for automated order fulfilment, packaging, and delivery biweekly/monthly.

Senior Officer at UOB Centre of Excellence (2024-02 – 2024-03)

• Customer Enquiry Resolution & Service Quality: Handled customer enquiries and service issues promptly while maintaining banking service quality standards and ensuring accurate resolution of requests.
• Product Knowledge & Customer Education: Educated customers on banking products and services to support informed decision-making, improve understanding, and enhance overall customer engagement.
• Rapid Process Adaptation & Communication: Quickly adapted to banking service processes within a short onboarding period and applied structured communication techniques to deliver effective support and identify suitable cross-selling opportunities.

Store Manager at Cold Storage Singapore (1983) Pte Ltd (2023-01 – 2023-10)

• End-to-End Store Operations Management: Oversaw daily store operations to ensure smooth workflow, operational compliance, and uninterrupted business continuity across all functions.
• Team Leadership & Performance Coaching: Led and coached team members to improve performance consistency, teamwork, and service standards while supporting day-to-day staff supervision.
• Inventory Planning & Stock Control: Managed inventory planning, stock control, and replenishment to prevent stock shortages, reduce operational disruptions, and support sales flow.
• Cash Handling & Loss Prevention: Monitored cash handling, reconciliation, and control procedures to ensure accuracy, accountability, and effective loss prevention practices.
• Customer Issue Resolution & Service Quality: Addressed customer feedback and operational issues promptly to maintain service quality, resolve escalations, and protect store reputation.

Master of Business Administration (MBA) – Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang (2026)

Bachelor of Biotechnology (Hons.) – INTI International University, Nilai (2019)

Foundation in Science – INTI International University, Nilai (2016)