Ellie White
Sydney,Australia
Summary
Dedicated Financial Crime Investigator with over 10 years of experience across EMEA and APAC markets. Skilled in AML/CTF detection, regulatory reporting, sanctions screening, and enhanced due diligence (EDD). Known for handling complex and sensitive cases with discretion, applying strong analytical and investigative skills. Consistently delivers accurate, timely reporting focused on safeguarding organisations and upholding compliance with AUSTRAC and global AML standards.
Overview
10
10
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Enhanced Customer Due Diligence Analyst
Commonwealth Bank Australia
Sydney
06.2024 - Current
- Conducts in-depth due diligence on high-risk clients, focusing primarily on Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) and related entities.
- Performs initial screening and ongoing monitoring, reviewing alerts against OFAC, PEP, and sanctions lists, ensuring accuracy and zero QA errors.
- Investigates adverse findings through open-source intelligence, reporting any adverse findings to the UMR team.
- Manages 20+ PEP reviews weekly, exercising sound risk-based judgement to mitigate exposure and uphold AML/CTF standards.
- Assisted the Quality Control (QC) team in training new employees and completing QC reviews, providing constructive feedback and ensuring all new joiners passed through the graduation program in a timely manner.
Regulatory Reporting Officer
ING Bank
Sydney
01.2024 - 06.2024
- Prepared and submitted 10+ Suspicious Matter Reports (SMRs) daily to AUSTRAC, prioritising escalations linked to terrorism, child exploitation, and fraud typologies.
- Ensured 100% compliance with AUSTRAC obligations by meeting strict SLA timelines for SMRs, Threshold Transaction Reports (TTRs) and IFTIs.
- Collaborated closely with compliance and fraud teams to refine reporting procedures and minimise operational risk.
- Played a key role in protecting the organisation against reputational and regulatory risk through accurate and timely submissions.
Transaction Monitoring Analyst
ING Bank
Sydney
05.2022 - 05.2023
- Investigated AML alerts to identify patterns of money laundering, terrorist financing, and fraud, applying detailed transaction analysis and customer profiling.
- Handled 10–20 live cases daily, including sensitive high-priority cases (e.g. terrorism financing, domestic abuse, child exploitation).
- Drafted and submitted Unusual Matter Reports (UMRs) with clear investigative summaries and evidence-based recommendations.
- Provided peer reviews and quality assurance checks, improving team accuracy rates to 95%.
- Mentored new analysts and delivered AML training sessions for frontline staff, raising awareness of emerging typologies and detection techniques.
Financial Crime Senior Analyst
Crown Agents Bank (CAB Payments)
London
03.2019 - 12.2021
- Managed 15–20+ AML alerts daily, conducting complex investigations into suspicious cross-border payments and correspondent banking activity.
- Drafted high-quality Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), meeting strict deadlines for submission to the UK’s National Crime Agency.
- Carried out client risk assessments during onboarding and periodic reviews, presenting findings and recommendations to senior management.
- Acted as a point of contact for law enforcement and regulators, ensuring timely responses to information requests and subpoenas.
- Worked closely with the Sanction Screening team and assisted the team on a need-to-based basis, screening SWIFT and mobile wallet P2P payments against OFAC, UN, HM Treasury lists.
- Introduced process improvements to monitoring systems and helped align internal controls with evolving FATF and FinCEN guidance.
- Delivered internal training and knowledge-sharing on new AML typologies, sanctions risks, and red-flag indicators.
- Dealt with ad hoc compliance requests from correspondent banking relations, corroborating with the relevant stakeholders to provide a timely response to their investigation.
Finance Administrator
Santander Consumer Finance
Redhill
06.2019 - 09.2019
- Reviewed loan applications for accuracy, verified KYC documentation, and ensured adherence to lending compliance requirements.
- Liaised between underwriters, brokers, and customers to ensure applications progressed smoothly.
- Communicated with lenders and borrowers regarding loan application, ensuring consistent customer satisfaction and obedience with financial lending protocols.
Banking Services Analyst
Crown Agents Bank (CAB Payments)
London
11.2015 - 03.2019
- Managed a portfolio of 15 institutional clients, acting as their primary contact for payment queries, investigations, and compliance matters.
- Processed international SWIFT transactions (MT202/MT103), ensuring adherence to FATF and EU AML regulations.
- Responded to fraud alerts, sanctions queries, and OFAC-related investigations, liaising with internal compliance teams and correspondent banks.
- Dealt with the cancellation and recollection of any fraudulent payments, recovering over USD 5m.
- Supported the transition to machine learning-based payment processing, achieving a 97% STP rate and delivering training to clients on the formatting of payment instructions.
- Conducted reconciliations, managed live payment queues, and performed end-of-day reporting to ensure accuracy and regulatory compliance.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Criminology
Kingston University London
06.2019
Skills
- AML / CTF Investigations and Reporting
- Transaction Monitoring and Sanctions Screening
- Enhanced and Ongoing Due Diligence
- Risk-Based Assessments and Regulatory Compliance
- Stakeholder and Law Enforcement Engagement
- Data Analysis and Case Management
- Quality Assurance and Mentoring
- MS Office, WorldCheck, Dow Jones, Eastnets
Certification
Preventing Online Child Exploitation with Financial Intelligence - ACAMS - Aug 2025
Certificate in Anti-Money Laundering - ICA - Nov 2019
Mental Health First Aider - Jun 2019
Lean Six Sigma (Yellow Belt) - Apr 2018
References
Available on request
Timeline
Enhanced Customer Due Diligence Analyst
Commonwealth Bank Australia
06.2024 - Current
Regulatory Reporting Officer
ING Bank
01.2024 - 06.2024
Transaction Monitoring Analyst
ING Bank
05.2022 - 05.2023
Finance Administrator
Santander Consumer Finance
06.2019 - 09.2019
Financial Crime Senior Analyst
Crown Agents Bank (CAB Payments)
03.2019 - 12.2021
Banking Services Analyst
Crown Agents Bank (CAB Payments)
11.2015 - 03.2019
Bachelor of Science - Criminology
Kingston University London
Similar Profiles
Mia De VosMia De Vos
Senior Business Analyst - Real Time Payments (Technology) at Commonwealth Bank AustraliaSenior Business Analyst - Real Time Payments (Technology) at Commonwealth Bank Australia
Andrea RukaAndrea Ruka
Service Delivery Manager - Payments at Commonwealth Bank AustraliaService Delivery Manager - Payments at Commonwealth Bank Australia
Gaurav BainsGaurav Bains
Manager - Governance & Reporting (Line 1) at Commonwealth Bank AustraliaManager - Governance & Reporting (Line 1) at Commonwealth Bank Australia
Luke BilobrkLuke Bilobrk
Client Advisor at PradaClient Advisor at Prada
Nasir MahmoodNasir Mahmood
Technical Business Analyst at VeriparkTechnical Business Analyst at Veripark