You can consider me an expert financial crime and illicit activity detector. Keeping an eye out for the trends so that you don't have to.
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about me
Hi, I’m Leah, a seasoned AML Transaction Monitoring Officer with a certification in Data Engineering, and a proven track record in the Fintech sector. My career has been shaped by my experiences in dynamic startup environments, where I've honed a versatile skill set that empowers me to build robust AML procedures and policies from the ground up.
I’m known for my meticulous attention to detail and my keen ability to swiftly identify and analyze emerging trends. This skill set has made me a go-to expert in mitigating risks and preventing financial crime, ensuring that businesses operate securely and compliantly.
My contributions don’t just stop at detection—they extend to delivering actionable insights that drive strategic business decisions. I’m passionate about using my expertise to protect businesses from financial threats and help them thrive in a competitive market.
key works
OFAC Sanctioned Entity
I identified an account conducting withdrawals in close proximity to the sanctioned entity BITPAPA IC FZC LLC. During a review of blockchain activity in Investigator, I discovered additional participants who made direct withdrawals to the entity both before and after the sanctions were imposed. This led to a thorough review of all related accounts, resulting in SAR filings, account closures, and coordination with our Chief AML Officer, and Homeland Security.
CSAM Engagement
A participant was flagged for making small, infrequent withdrawals to a CSAM wallet. OSINT revealed that they worked at a nursery/preschool and had close proximity to children. Due to the nature of the findings, I flagged the activity to FINCEN for further investigation, resulting in a SAR filing and account closure.
Exposure to Sanctioned Entity
During a manual weekly review in Elliptic, it was discovered that one of our major institutional partners had been depositing funds from, a high-risk exchange based in Iran. This significant compliance issue was escalated to the heads of TMT, GST, and Compliance. Meetings were held with the institutional partner and Elliptic, leading to the confirmation that the assets originated from a whitelisted CEX, and our blockchain analytics provider acknowledged an error in tagging the address. The case was documented with all relevant correspondences
No Alert Log
Project Lead
LW
Collaborators
n/a
Purpose
The goal of this project was to develop a solution that minimises the repetition and redundancy present in the manual monitoring process. This proposal was designed as an enhancement to the existing manual review process, aiming to reduce disruption and have minimal impact on the current workflow.
Duration
Proposal - 1 Week
Policy Update and Submission - 4 days
Senor Managment Approval - 1 day
Solution
The solution involved creating a log of participants who were frequently flagged, along with a 6-month review date that would automatically trigger. This allowed for their activity to be regularly reviewed, ensuring ongoing adherence to internal compliance policies.
Purpose
The purpose of this project was to resolve an issue that caused certain assets to be incorrectly screened and to resubmit the missed transactions to ensure accurate reporting.
Duration
2 months
Solution
The solution involved collaborating with DevOps to update the code, ensuring that transactions were accurately screened. In addition to that I had to reuploading the CSV file to Elliptic via Holistic with the correct output address and reviewing the newly uploaded transactions to confirm the absence of any illicit activity.
Asset Remediation
Project Lead
LW
Collaborators
ag - Devops
N - Elliptic
Stratis Audit Documentation
Project Lead
Collaborators
cOMPLIANCE mANAGER
tmteam
gsteam
Purpose
This was a collaborative team project where we had the opportunity to tackle various subtasks listed in Asana as part of the broader effort to prepare for the annual Statis audit, allowing us to engage in critical work beyond our standard day-to-day responsibilities.
Duration
Proposal - 1 Week
Policy Update and Submission - 4 days
Senor Managment Approval - 1 day
Solution
As part of my contribution to the wider team project, I used my knowledge of Excel and created two documents that created easily digestible insight for the external auditors to understand the 2023 transaction trends.
Purpose
For this project I took the lead in working with the DevOps team to update the API and turn on Holistic asset screening for Elliptic, who would eventually phase out the single asset screening.
Duration
API Update - 1 Week
Holistic Screening Testing and Review - 1 Week
Solution
All transactions were being screening holistically, which provided a better overview for the onchain activity and meant that we were ahead of the phase out, ensuring a smooth transition.
Holistic Screening Integration
Project Lead
LW
Collaborators
ag - Devops
Blacklist Procedure Update
Project Lead
LW
Collaborators
Df - Tmt Lead
CL - QA Lead
et - GST Lead
Purpose
The purpose of the project was to update the Wallet Blacklisting Policy in order to streamline and the procedure. The new policy was created to eliminate outdated practices and redundancies, ultimately making the process more efficient.
Duration
Proposal - 1 Week
Policy Update and Submission - 1 Week
Senor Managment Approval - 1 Week
Solution
Created a clear policy that streamlined the blacklisting process. This was achieved through collaboration with the QA and TMT managers to align on goals, removing outdated sections of the policy, and obtaining approval from the head of compliance. The result was a more efficient, easy-to-follow policy document that both new hires and the QA team can use effectively.
Purpose
The purpose of this project was to develop a dashboard that visually represents team productivity and workload distribution. The dashboard helped establish a baseline for expected outputs, identify scenarios that require more resources, and assess the team's capacity, enabling more efficient resource allocation.
Duration
4 Months
Solution
The dashboard was created by establishing a baseline for expected alerts, cases, and SARs per analyst, understanding which scenarios required more manpower, and determining the team's overall capacity. This allowed for better resource allocation, ensuring that the team could maintain efficiency and know when additional resources were necessary.
Data Dashboard
Project Lead
lw
Collaborators
n/a
resume
Jan 2024 - Current
May - Aug 2023
Apr - Dec 2022
AML Transaction Monitoring Analyst
Zero Hash | Remote
Skills
Transaction Monitoring | Blockchain Investigation | SAR Filing | EDD | OSINT Research | Trend Analysis | KPI Reporting | Policy Writing | Audit File Preparation
Software
Abrigo | Elliptic | Lexus Nexus | Grafana | Excel
Data Engineering Student
QA Ltd | Remote
Skills
Data Analysis | Data Visualisation | Data Cleansing | Normalisation | VLookUp | AWS
Software
Excel | Power BI | Data Bricks
AML Compliance Officer
Swyftx | Remote
Skills
Transaction Monitoring | Blockchain Investigation | SMR Filing | EDD | OSINT Research | Trend Analysis | KYC Verification | Onboarding
Software
Chainalysis | JIRA | GreenID | Comply Advantage
Disclaimer: Please note that the experience listed here highlights only my most relevant roles in AML, data analysis, and compliance. There may be gaps in the timeline due to career transitions, further education, or contract work. For a full breakdown of my career history, please visit my LinkedIn profile.
contact
If you are interested in discussing a potential project, exploring opportunities to work together, or just want to connect over a coffee chat, please feel free to contact me using one of the options below.