Senior Associate, AML/Fraud Risk Advisory

Ankura • Washington, DC

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

The BSA/AML/OFAC Risk Advisory Senior Associate will support client engagements across the financial services, fintech, and money services business (MSB) sectors, with a focus on assisting clients in building, enhancing, and operating financial crime compliance programs. This includes contributing to policy and procedure development, performing independent reviews and gap assessments, executing day‑to‑day compliance operations (KYC onboarding, transaction monitoring, EDD, SAR processes), and applying statistical analytics to large transaction datasets. The Senior Associate will also assist clients with the design, implementation, and enhancement of fraud controls, leveraging experience in financial services anti‑fraud programs to strengthen clients’ combined BSA/AML/OFAC and fraud risk management frameworks.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice, Finance, Business, Accounting, Data Analytics, or a related field or equivalent professional experience; 3–5+ years of experience in BSA/AML, OFAC, sanctions compliance, financial services fraud prevention/detection, or financial crime operations.
• Experience drafting or enhancing compliance documentation (policies, procedures, workflows, risk assessments).
• Experience performing independent reviews, audits, or compliance testing for AML/BSA/OFAC programs and/or fraud‑risk management programs.
• Working knowledge of financial crime regulatory requirements, including the BSA, USA PATRIOT Act, OFAC sanctions, FFIEC guidance, and fraud‑risk expectations (e.g., payment fraud, identity theft, scams, synthetic identities).
• Experience analyzing large transaction datasets using statistical methods to identify AML or fraud‑related trends, anomalies, or risk indicators.
• Familiarity with data analysis tools (Excel advanced functions, SQL, Python, R, BI dashboards) preferred.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including report writing and presentation of analytical findings.
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to manage multiple engagements simultaneously.
• Ability to work collaboratively in a fast‑paced consulting environment.
• Ability to travel periodically for client meetings or onsite activities (generally < 30%).
• Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. without sponsorship now or in the future.

Nice To Haves

• CAMS, CFCS, CFE, CRCM, or similar compliance‑related certification.
• Experience working with fintechs, MSBs, or agent‑based service models.
• Experience evaluating AML and fraud systems, including case management platforms, sanctions screening tools, fraud‑detection systems, and transaction monitoring solutions.
• Experience with statistical modeling, analytics automation, or machine‑learning–assisted risk scoring (preferred but not required).
• Prior consulting or professional services experience is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Assist in drafting, enhancing, and maintaining BSA/AML/OFAC and fraud risk management policies, procedures, and risk assessments for financial institutions, fintechs, and MSBs.
• Lead and execute remote independent reviews and gap assessments evaluating client financial crime programs—including AML, sanctions, and fraud controls—against regulatory expectations and industry best practices.
• Conduct reviews of customer onboarding, KYC processes, and fraud‑related identity verification controls, including device intelligence, behavioral analytics, and anomaly detection measures.
• Perform transaction monitoring reviews and investigations, assessing both AML alerts and fraud‑related alerts or cases (e.g., account takeover, synthetic identity, scams, payments fraud).
• Conduct enhanced due diligence (EDD) reviews for high‑risk customers and fraud‑risk reviews for high‑risk events or typologies.
• Prepare, draft, and support clients in filing Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), including SARs related to fraud activity, and maintain supporting documentation.
• Develop metrics, dashboards, and management reporting for AML, sanctions, and fraud program monitoring.
• Apply statistical and analytical techniques (sampling, segmentation, trend analysis, anomaly detection) to large sets of financial transaction data to identify AML and fraud risks, evaluate program effectiveness, and support model tuning and optimization.
• Produce analytical summaries and visualizations to support risk assessments, fraud‑control evaluations, transaction monitoring enhancements, and executive reporting.
• Assist clients in implementing and improving fraud controls, including velocity checks, transaction‑risk scoring, identity verification workflows, fraud‑case triage processes, and step‑up authentication triggers.
• Maintain accurate workpapers, analyses, and written reports documenting findings, conclusions, and actionable recommendations.
• Participate in interviews and walkthroughs with client personnel to assess compliance and fraud‑control design, operational workflows, and data flows.
• Monitor BSA/AML/OFAC regulatory developments, emerging fraud typologies, and evolving financial crime risks to update client materials and internal methodologies.
• Support proposal development, client growth initiatives, and cross‑functional collaboration within Ankura.
• Represent Ankura professionally during client interactions, demonstrating strong communication skills, analytical rigor, and subject‑matter expertise.

Benefits

• Compensation decisions depend on the circumstances of each hire. A reasonable estimate of the current base pay range is $85,000 to $120,000; this range is not a promise of a particular wage.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Number of Employees: 501-1,000 employees