The Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) has advertised for a `Sanctions Representative’ to help protect it from threats such as money laundering and terrorist financing.
In an advertisement on its Facebook page yesterday, GBTI said that the Sanctions Representative is “crucial to the mandate of the bank to protect itself and the wider financial system against the ever-present threat of money laundering, terrorist and proliferation financing, and compliance with local and international sanctions” programmes.
The holder of the post must ensure that the bank maintains a robust sanction compliance and screening programme.
This programme is required to identify Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), negative news and to screen existing and potential clients against relevant sanctions lists, as part of the bank’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML)/ Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT)/Sanctions programme.
“The incumbent’s interaction with external customers will be non-existent, to protect the independence and safety of the AML/CFT/Sanctions function. The Sanctions Representative will, however, have extensive interactions with the wider AML/CFT Compliance function, with frontline staff and have access to branch managers and other senior bank officers, as appropriate. Successfully fulfilling your purpose as the Sanctions Representative has a direct effect on the bank’s AML/CFT Compliance program, which ensures that the bank’s reputation with the public and external stakeholders, such as correspondent banks, is safeguarded and the bank does not receive AMLCFT-related regulatory sanctions, including fines/penalties”, the advertisement said.
Key job responsibilities include:
Examine sanctions alerts, including alerts from onboarding and ongoing Know Your Customer processes and alerts from transaction processing.
Record decision-making on sanctions alerts, transactions, SWIFT messages, referred customers and affiliated parties that adequately mitigate the Bank’s sanctions risks.
Maintain the Bank’s various sanctions and monitoring lists, including local PEPs, and serious offences, and assist in liaising with vendors regarding external lists, such as OFAC (US Office of Foreign Assets Control) etc.
Conduct reviews and investigations of less complex transactions and customer related escalations to determine potential sanctions related risks and effectively present that information to required personnel.
Update the Bank’s customer and sanctions screening applications with new targets compiled from internal and external sanctions and other related lists.
Applicants must have a Diploma or equivalent in Business, Finance, Accounting, Economics or related field.
And/or AML/CFT Compliance specific certificates/training/qualifications
The applicant must also have a minimum of two years or equivalent experience working in a financial institution, preferably in a Bank or other licensed financial institution and preferably in a compliance (general/sanctions/investigations) or audit function.
Applications must be submitted by Thursday, September 12, 2024.
The advertisement comes in the aftermath of the sanctions announced earlier this year by the US OFAC against Nazar Mohamed and his son Azruddin Mohamed and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour, Mae Toussaint Jnr Thomas. The sanctions by the US have seen financial institutions here cutting ties with the Mohameds. The Mohameds have had large-scale business interests here.