Senior Financial Crime Manager

About Equals

Equals is the next-generation global money movement platform built for exceptional businesses operating across borders. We bring international payments, embedded finance, and more together into a single connection that simplifies operations and strengthens financial control. With deep expertise and integrated infrastructure, Equals turns financial complexity into reliable solutions.

With our headquarters in London and teams around the UK and Europe, you will join a very close-knit, talented and supportive team from various backgrounds who believe that bringing different perspectives together helps us understand our customers' needs. United, by one thing, making money management straightforward and cost-effective for our customers.

About the role

The Senior Financial Crime Manager is a senior second-line role. You will lead the Financial Crime team day to day, own our investigations and Suspicious Activity Reporting, and be the senior voice the business turns to on financial crime. You will hold approval authority from the relevant MLRO to review Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) before they go to the National Crime Agency (NCA), and you will cover for our MLROs when needed. You will work closely with the Head of Financial Crime, the MLROs of our regulated entities and the wider team across our UK and EU locations.

The role also supports our financial crime advisory work alongside investigations and reporting. You will be involved on our advisory case load which can include new products, prospective customers, partners, minimum standards reviews and complex escalations.

About you

You are an expert in financial crime, with deep knowledge of anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing, sanctions, fraud, and bribery and corruption. You know the Money Laundering Regulations, the Proceeds of Crime Act, the FCA Handbook and JMLSG guidance inside out and have a good understanding on the EU equivalents. You have led complex investigations, written and approved SARs, and made difficult risk decisions and stood behind them.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the Financial Crime team, including line management of a number of direct reports.
• Lead investigations into suspected financial crime, from first alert or referral through to decision and closure.
• Approve SARs and Defence Against Money Laundering (DAML) requests before submission to the NCA, under authority from the relevant MLRO, and recommend whether to keep, restrict or exit customer relationships.
• Cover for the MLRO of any Group entity when needed, including responding to law enforcement and regulators.
• Contribute to the financial crime advisory function, advise on new products, customers and partner arrangements, run minimum standards reviews and ensure advice given to the business is sound and in line with Group risk appetite
• Provide second-line oversight of financial crime controls and support the delivery of remediation and assurance activity
• Own and maintain financial crime policies, procedures and controls, and lead the business-wide financial crime risk assessment.
• Oversee transaction monitoring and screening, and drive improvements to the systems and data behind them.
• Advise the business on financial crime risk, including new products, customers and partners, report to senior management on risk and MI, and keep the firm ahead of regulatory change.
• Manage relationships with regulators and law enforcement, and deliver financial crime training across the business.

Accountabilities

• The firm's compliance with financial crime regulations and policies.
• The quality and timeliness of investigations and of SARs submitted to the NCA and other reporting bodies.
• Accurate and regular reporting to senior management on financial crime risk.
• Effective cover for each MLRO across UK and EU entities.
• The quality and consistency of financial crime advice given to the business

Essential Skills and experience

• Significant experience in financial crime risk management within payments or another regulated firm.
• Expert knowledge of money laundering, terrorist financing, sanctions, anti-bribery and corruption, and fraud risk.
• Detailed working knowledge of the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the FCA Handbook and JMLSG guidance.
• A track record of leading complex investigations and approving SARs and DAML requests.
• Sound judgement and the confidence to make, document and defend risk-based decisions.
• Strong leadership skills and the ability to communicate clearly with senior management and regulators.
• A recognised financial crime or AML/CFT qualification, for example ICA or ACAMS.
• A working understanding of the EU AML framework and where it diverges from the UK regime
• The judgement to advise as well as to decide giving the business a clear answer under time pressure with strong reasoning

Desirable Skills and experience

• Experience covering for an MLRO or nominated officer.
• Experience of e-money or payments regulation in the UK or EU.
• Experience of working across more than one regulated entity or jurisdiction and of supporting more than one MLRO

Diversity & inclusion

Equals is committed to building a workplace where everyone can be themselves. We actively welcome different perspectives, backgrounds and experiences, and we'll work with you to understand what you need to do your best work. We're an equal opportunities employer and proud of it.

We offer hybrid working across our teams, balancing time in the office — for collaboration, events and the relationships that make work rewarding — with the flexibility to work remotely where roles allow. A minimum of 3 days per week in the office will be required for this role.