Tahrima Sharmin

Scope: My role with Westpac focuses on facilitating the end-to-end client onboarding process, ensuring all due diligence documentation was collected and delivered to the CLM Operations teams. Key to the role is managing close partnerships with Relationship Managers, operations, credit, legal, and compliance teams to provide efficient and timely onboarding of new and existing client relationships. Some of my duties include serving as the primary point of contact for KYC and regulatory client onboarding, acting as a subject matter expert to guide clients through due diligence requirements, and liaising with business stakeholders to manage workload planning and prioritise requests.

Duties include:

• Facilitate the end-to-end client onboarding process, ensuring all due diligence documentation is sourced and delivered to the CLM Operations teams to complete the E2E client onboarding
• Work closely with the business operating units on a day-to-day basis to ensure activities are performed in adherence to the policies and guidelines.
• Adapt at identifying areas of potential vulnerability and drafting corrective measures with strong knowledge base in Financial Crime, AML/CTF operations.
• Contribute to the Group’s AML/CTF obligations with respect to the Group’s Part A and Part B Programme and checking FATCA/CRS requirements
• Developing and implementing compliance training and spotlight sessions to the team as well as providing guidance to the senior management on pro-active identification of trends and recommendations for remediation.
• Played a vital role as an acting business analyst to outline the business requirements in building the CRA model which includes Gathering information and defining the business needs and issues with possible outcomes for end-to-end ECDD/HRC process.
• Work with stakeholders majorly with ECDD/HRC to outline the upstream and downstream process and bridge the gap in the model while making sure the regulatory guard rails are met.
• Driving and leading the change by continually looking for improvements to workflows and functionality to improve efficiency by reviewing the content of regulatory documents like standard operating procedures and ECDD user guides, implementing the findings to outline our current procedures.
• Monitoring regulatory changes to ensure that onboarding processes and compliance measures are aligned with current requirements
• Providing training and support to junior staff and other team members on KYC and regulatory procedures. Act as an SME and Due Diligence expert to guide clients through the KYC & Regulatory requirements and variations of documents which may fulfil due diligence requirements.
• Liaise regularly with Business stakeholders to conduct workload planning, review status of key onboardings/mandates and prioritise open requests. Provide transparency on overall process and progress
• Preparing and reviewing reports related to client onboarding, compliance, and due diligence activities for internal stakeholders and regulatory bodies
• Collaborating with Financial Crime Risk Mitigation (FCRM) and Financial Crime Operations (FCO) to ensure customers are protected from criminal activities
• Managing the organization and storage of client documentation to ensure accuracy, completeness, and security
• Identifying opportunities for process improvements and working on initiatives to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the onboarding process
• Contributing to strategic planning and development of new strategies to improve client onboarding and compliance operations.
• Frequently interact with key stakeholders such as Front Office, Financial Crime Compliance, Legal, Compliance, Credit, and Operations to develop strong partnerships, eliminate roadblocks and ensure

Scope: My role with Commonwealth Bank of Australia worked in financial crime intelligent unit, conducting thorough investigations and clearing alerts generated by AML Transaction Monitoring Systems and submitting findings directly to AUSTRAC.

• Key to the role was working with the financial crime and intelligence team to uphold regulatory responsibilities under the AML/CTF framework and safeguarding the organisation from financial crime, terrorism financing, and related threats.
• Duties included:
• Authoring detailed case summary reports, including grounds for suspicion, and completing Suspicious Matter Reports (SMRs)
• Work with stakeholders majorly with ECDD/HRC to outline the upstream and downstream process and bridge the gap in the model while making sure the regulatory guard rails are met.
• Conducting comprehensive investigations into high-risk AML/CTF matters, involving serious and organised crime, national security, and large syndicated fraud, clear the alerts generated in AML Transaction Monitoring Systems and directly submit to AUSTRAC.
• Working with financial crime and intelligence team with regulatory responsibility for the anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing (AML/CTF) framework.
• Protect the group and country from financial crime and terrorism financing (TF), child exploitation (CEM), legal enforcement (LEA), Group Investigation (GI), various Fraud/Scam case and contribute to the growth and resilience of economy by discovering, understanding, and disrupting criminal activity
• Monitoring and analysing customer transactions to detect suspicious activities in accordance with AML regulations
• Investigating flagged transactions, conducting due diligence, and preparing detailed reports on findings
• Assisting in the identification of high-risk customers and implementing enhanced due diligence measures
• Engaging with key stakeholders and partnering with government agencies on live law enforcement investigations to protect customers from criminal activity
• Staying updated on regulatory changes and ensuring compliance with AML laws, policies, and procedures
• Prepare detailed Investigation Reports clearly outlining ML/CTF Risks.
• Established core work plans for onshore and offshore staff and communicate priorities clearly and effectively.
• Implement and expand new and refresher training program to align the offshore team and bring them to the expected standards.
• Drive continuous improvements by reviewing incidents, escalations, identifying gaps and iterating on best practices

• Scope: My role with Macquarie Investment Group focused on delivering high-quality service to customer inquiries and ensuring clients were informed of significant changes to their super fund accounts. Key to the role was processing and recording AML requests for superannuation, pension, or investment accounts, and assisting with the day-to-day operations of the Onboarding function. Some of my duties included performing risk assessments via electronic VEDA checks, liaising with internal and external advisers to address requests and provide AML legislative information, and working collaboratively to maintain accurate processing and service level agreements. Additionally, I participated in team meetings for process improvement, managed superannuation products and Wrap administration platforms, and maintained customer data and documents efficiently.

• Scope: My role with BT Financial Group focused on delivering exceptional client service through both inbound and outbound calls. Key to the role was establishing strong relationships with clients and advisers, and educating them about their superannuation and investment products, life insurance, and deceased estate information. Some of my duties included promoting cross-selling opportunities, ensuring compliance with operational hours and guidelines, managing client issues, responding to enquiries and providing information on new services and product promotions, and assisting clients further through cross-sales and retention activities.

• Achievement:
• Received the Quarterly Award for Outstanding Customer Service.

• Scope: My role with CommInsure focused on delivering high-quality service to clients while ensuring continuous operational improvement. Key to the role was providing comprehensive knowledge of superannuation products, including policy terms, life and TPD insurance, and deceased estate information. Some of my duties included managing the end-to-end onboarding process, responding to client queries, ensuring accurate data recording, liaising with financial advisors, handling third-party inquiries, staying updated on product and legislative changes, and supporting administrative tasks such as benefit payments and team contributions.

• Achievement:
• Received the Four Globes award within a single month in recognition of exceptional customer service.