Saritha Kotagiri

Reviewing/Investigating TM L3 Alerts generated by Oracle TM system and carrying out necessary investigation to ascertain the alert as closure or report as SAR.
Drafting alert narratives for scenarios against which alerts have triggered and providing supporting evidence.
Escalate potential findings or risks identified during the review of alerts.
Drafting and sending RFIs (Request for Information) for additional information.
Conducting screening on the alerted customer and related counterparties for any negative or adverse news.
Exposure to working on retail, institutional and business banking clients.
Exposure to Transaction monitoring typologies, scenarios.
Experience in drafting alert narratives.
Escalate complex or high-risk alerts for further analysis or management review.
Conduct detailed investigations into suspicious activities and transactions to detect potential fraud, money laundering, or other illicit financial activities.

• Produced in-depth reports outlining findings and recommendations for improvement by updating knowledge and understanding of major aspects of AML, KYC, CFT, due diligence and other financial issues, policy and procedures.
• Prepare regulatory reports, request for information (RFI), and Suspicious Activities Reports (SARs).
• Identifying excessive risk, fraud and review of misrepresentations in transactions.
• Conducted quality check reviews and filed Suspicious Activity Reports originating from various investigations unit including correspondence banking sanctions, fraud and compliance to FinCen.
• Utilize cloud base software to create and implement KYC, lexis nexis, Norkom and world check regulatory database corporation(RDC).
• Provide risk control and, due diligence documentation, decisions and corrective actions are met with bank standards, procedures and regulations.
• Identifying significant cases and notify management.
• Ensure that decisions not to file SAR are properly documented and that SAR for account that have been identified to have carried out possible structuring are properly documented.
• Review system alerts, assessing impact to AML processes, conducting research as required and document results in accordance with appropriate regulations with time limitations.
• Collect and document data, including: alerting activity, account information, transactional data, KYC information, politically exposed person (PEP) status, adverse media as well as counterparty and any other required information to assist in investigation
• Review and analyze underlying data gathered opposite Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Terrorist Financing (TF), Human Trafficking and other red flags to assess whether alert should be recommended for escalation or to be closed with no further action
• Fully document all alerts, including supporting data, analysis as well as escalation or close recommendation rationale within case management system in timely manner and consistent with firm’s quality standards.
• Build relationships with AML Investigations units and effectively communicate and transfer information for case investigations
• Collaborate with India and US colleagues to share processing and AML knowledge to enhance AML Investigation process flows
• Process work items in order of priority and aligned with SLA priorities with 100% efficiency.
• Escalate issues in timely manner and demonstrate courage and integrity by doing right thing all time.
• In conjunction with manager and consistent with overall department objectives, establish and execute on annual development goals. Also participated in special projects, quality improvement initiatives and other similar exercises
• Increased stakeholder satisfaction with improved report presentation, visualization, and readability

• Responsible for analyzing alerts and investigating transactional activities to detect any suspicious activities of Money Laundering & Terrorist financing
• Identifying and researching the patterns, trends in complex transactional and customer data to detect, prevent and report financial fraud & financial crime.
• Conducting exhaustive checks on sanctioned entities/individuals and acquiring relevant profile and transaction details from primary and secondary data using internal tools and applications.
• Identify potential sanctions screening matches, review to identify false positives.
• Narrate & report the case to next level investigation if any anomalous activity found.
• Having good knowledge on Anti-Money Laundering, USA Patriot Act, Bank Secrecy Act, FATF guidelines and EU sanctions.
• Involved in complete process around regulatory/non regulatory internally directed Enterprise-wide searches of our account holders and their transactions looking for known or suspected money launderers, terrorists or drug dealers.
• Work through alerts on daily basis to understand if there is match to our clients and then raising of reviews to Escalation Teams.
• Possesses ability to process high volumes of alerts on daily basis.
• Shows analytical abilities to process and investigate work, showing due diligence and when required raising issues to Team Leads.
• Ability to work effectively in diverse team/site environment
• Handle high risk alerts by conducting due diligence and EDD
• Prioritized and organized tasks to efficiently accomplish service goals in identifying unusual patterns, derivations and behavior to determine if SARs should be filed.
• Kept team on track by assigning and supervising their activities and giving constructive feedback
• Conducting quality checks on investigations performed- by analysts as per governing rules and procedures (QC).
• Screening individuals & entities against global sanction list issued by OFAC, EU, UN and other international and government agencies

• Performing remediation on low, medium, high risk on Commercial & Business banking clients and applying preferred due diligence like, Customer due diligence, Enhanced due diligence and additional due diligence.
• Carrying out Pre-checks, in terms of active status, types of clients (global banking/ global market), next review date, risk rating, capacity, country of incorporation, products and services, booking entities, pre-KYC report, transaction summary.
• Analyzing products and purposes whether all are in active status or any product to be offboarded.
• Check with previous documents using smart client application and obtain documents which are valid.
• Evaluating risk based on global PEP, Bearer shares vulnerable business activities, offshore banking license, sanction connection, Etc.
• Performing & drafting missing requirements with regards to country specific requirements, risk categories and nature of the business, products, ownership, source of wealth and funds, nature of client contact, through business sponsor to client outreach
• Checking received responses using shared mailbox and validating documents received. And identifying and verifying board of directors/ Authority to act/ Ultimate controllers/ Relevant beneficial owners.
• Performing background checks using RDC, Cosima applications with regards to global PEP, local PEP, sanctions, money laundering, terrorist financing, drug trafficking, arms, weapons etc. and discounting, mitigating, escalating accordingly.
• Based on material and immaterial hits importing case in fenergo and adding associated parties, selecting appropriate drop-downs based on review performed. And uploading documents obtained in process of vetting and getting it approved.
• Responsible for investigative research, root cause analysis and consulting regarding highly complex financial crimes transactions with low, moderate and high risk.
• Conduct investigative research using appropriate investigative techniques to determine risk.
• Perform detailed analysis to detect patterns, trends, anomalies and schemes in transactions and relationships across multiple businesses/products.
• Draft corrective action plans and assist in managing change to prevent/mitigate risk.
• Perform detailed analysis and maintain required documentation, and file Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)