Money Laundering Reporting Officer

About us Tamara is the leading fintech platform in Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC region with a mission to help people make their dreams come true by building the most customer-centric financial super-app on earth. The company serves millions of users in KSA, UAE and Kuwait, and partners with leading global and regional brands such as SHEIN, Jarir, noon, Amazon, IKEA, eXtra and Farfetch as well as small and medium businesses. Tamara is Saudi’s first fintech unicorn and is backed by Sanabil Investments, SNB Capital, Checkout.com, amongst others, operating out of its headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with other regional and global support offices. About the role The Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) oversees the financial crime compliance framework at Tamara, a finance company licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE). Reporting directly to the Head of Compliance, UAE, the MLRO operates as a senior and independent second line control function, supporting the identification, assessment, management, monitoring, and reporting of money laundering, terrorist financing, proliferation financing, targeted financial sanctions, and related financial crime risks across the company. The role assesses internal suspicious activity referrals, submits Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) to the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) through the approved UAE reporting channels, acts as a key point of contact with the CBUAE and other relevant UAE authorities on financial crime matters, and reports to the Head of Compliance, UAE, Senior Management, and relevant governance forums. This is a senior position, candidates should have 8 or more years of relevant experience in anti-money laundering (AML), countering the financing of terrorism (CFT), sanctions, or financial crime compliance gained within a regulated financial institution, fintech, finance company, bank, payment service provider, or similar environment, with demonstrated experience engaging with the CBUAE in a comparable financial crime compliance role. Your responsibilities Financial crime framework & risk assessments: - Maintain and oversee the company’s AML, CFT, countering proliferation financing (CPF), targeted financial sanctions, and financial crime compliance framework, ensuring policies, procedures, methodologies, and controls remain aligned with UAE laws, CBUAE requirements, and internal standards. - Assess the applicability and impact of new or amended UAE AML, CFT, CPF, and sanctions requirements and support the implementation of required changes across the company. - Lead the company’s institutional money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing risk assessment, covering risks relating to customers, products, merchants, delivery channels, geographies, technology, outsourcing, and new business activities. - Ensure risk assessment outcomes are translated into proportionate controls, monitoring activities, and risk-based priorities. Customer due diligence & sanctions oversight: - Establish second line requirements for customer identification, verification, due diligence, enhanced due diligence, beneficial ownership, source of funds, and customer risk classification. - Provide oversight and challenge of first line onboarding and due diligence controls, review material or high-risk cases escalated to the second line, and advise Senior Management before decisions are taken to onboard or retain high-risk customers. - Maintain oversight of sanctions, politically exposed persons (PEPs), watchlist, and adverse media screening requirements, and review material sanctions escalations and advise on appropriate action. - Oversee compliance with applicable UAE targeted financial sanctions requirements, including the implementation of funds freezing measures, the handling of search and freeze instructions received from the relevant UAE authorities, and related reporting obligations Transaction monitoring & suspicious transaction reporting: - Oversee the effectiveness of the company’s transaction monitoring arrangements, including scenarios, thresholds, alert handling, investigations, and case management, and review material or complex cases escalated by the first line. - Escalate control weaknesses, backlogs, data issues, or system limitations affecting financial crime controls and monitor remediation through to closure. - Assess internal suspicious transaction and activity referrals, determine whether external reporting is required, and submit STRs, Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), and other applicable reports to the UAE FIU through the approved UAE reporting channels. - Implement appropriate follow-up actions after reporting, maintain strict confidentiality, prevent tipping off, and maintain records supporting decisi

This is a senior position; candidates should have 8 or more years of relevant experience in anti-money laundering (AML), countering the financing of terrorism (CFT), sanctions, or financial crime compliance gained within a regulated financial institution, fintech, finance company, bank, payment service provider, or similar environment, with demonstrated experience engaging with the CBUAE in a comparable financial crime compliance role.

Maintain and oversee the company’s AML, CFT, countering proliferation financing (CPF), targeted financial sanctions, and financial crime compliance framework, ensuring policies, procedures, methodologies, and controls remain aligned with UAE laws, CBUAE requirements, and internal standards. Assess applicability and impact of new or amended UAE AML, CFT, CPF, and sanctions requirements and support implementation. Lead the company’s institutional money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing risk assessment across customers, products, merchants, channels, geographies, technology, outsourcing, and new activities. Ensure risk assessment outcomes translate into proportionate controls and risk-based priorities. Establish second line requirements for customer identification, verification, due diligence, enhanced due diligence, beneficial ownership, source of funds, and customer risk classification. Provide oversight of onboarding and due diligence controls, review material or high-risk cases escalated, and advise Senior Management before onboarding/high-risk retention decisions. Maintain oversight of sanctions, PEPs, watchlists, and adverse media screening, and review sanctions escalations. Oversee compliance with UAE targeted financial sanctions, including funds freezing measures and related reporting. Oversee transaction monitoring arrangements, alert handling, investigations, and case management; escalate weaknesses and monitor remediation. Assess internal referrals and determine if external reporting is required; submit STRs/SARs to the UAE FIU via approved channels and maintain confidentiality and records.