Compliance Officer & Money Laundering Reporting Officer (CO/MLRO)
Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Regulatory Coverage: FSRA and DFSA, with VARA exposure
Regulatory Status: Approved Person – Compliance Officer and MLRO
Role Overview
We are seeking an experienced Compliance Officer and Money Laundering Reporting Officer to lead the compliance and financial crime framework for regulated digital-asset activities in the UAE.
This is a senior control-function role responsible for regulatory compliance, AML/CFT oversight, licensing, governance and regulatory engagement across FSRA- and DFSA-regulated businesses, with additional exposure to VARA requirements.
The successful candidate will combine strong UAE regulatory knowledge with practical experience across institutional markets, digital assets, virtual assets or crypto-exchange operations.
Key Responsibilities:
Regulatory Licensing and Authorisations
- Lead end-to-end licensing, authorisation and variation-of-permission applications with the FSRA, DFSA and, where applicable, VARA.
- Manage applications relating to digital assets, virtual assets and institutional crypto-exchange activities.
- Act as the principal point of contact for regulatory applications, submissions and post-authorisation supervisory matters.
- Prepare and oversee regulatory business plans, compliance manuals, AML/CFT frameworks, governance documentation and Approved Person applications.
- Coordinate responses to regulatory enquiries, information requests, thematic reviews and inspections.
- Monitor compliance with licence conditions, regulatory commitments and supervisory action plans.
Compliance Oversight
- Serve as the principal compliance contact for the FSRA and DFSA.
- Design, implement and maintain proportionate compliance frameworks for institutional digital-asset and crypto-exchange operations.
- Provide compliance oversight across products and services including token listings, spot trading, custody, wallets, staking and stablecoins.
- Monitor regulatory developments across the FSRA, DFSA and VARA regimes, ensuring policies and procedures remain current.
- Develop and execute the annual compliance plan and risk-based Compliance Monitoring Programme.
- Oversee regulatory filings, notifications, approvals and periodic reporting requirements.
- Provide clear and timely compliance reporting to the Senior Executive Officer, governing body and relevant Board committees.
- Advise the business on the regulatory implications of new products, markets, partnerships and commercial initiatives.
AML/CFT and Financial Crime
- Act as MLRO and the primary contact for the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit and other competent authorities.
- Establish and maintain effective AML/CFT, sanctions and counter-proliferation financing frameworks aligned with applicable FSRA and DFSA requirements.
- Oversee digital-asset financial crime controls, including blockchain analytics and transaction-monitoring systems.
- Ensure compliance with Travel Rule requirements, customer and transaction monitoring, sanctions screening and STR/SAR reporting obligations.
- Lead enterprise-wide AML and financial crime risk assessments covering custody, smart contracts, cross-border flows, fraud and emerging digital-asset typologies.
- Review and escalation suspicious activity, regulatory breaches and material financial crime matters.
- Deliver effective AML/CFT and financial crime training to employees, senior management and Board members.
Governance, Risk and Assurance
- Advise the Board and senior management on regulatory, compliance and financial crime risks.
- Identify, assess and support the mitigation of regulatory, operational and conduct risks.
- Coordinate regulatory inspections, external audits and independent compliance reviews, managing remediation actions through to completion.
- Maintain accurate regulatory records, including breaches, complaints, training, regulatory correspondence and suspicious activity.
- Embed compliance-by-design principles across technology, product development and blockchain integrations.
- Promote a strong culture of compliance, accountability and regulatory integrity throughout the organisation.
Experience and Competencies
- A university degree in law, finance, compliance, risk management or a related discipline.
- Significant compliance and regulatory experience within institutional financial markets.
- Demonstrable experience across digital assets, virtual assets, crypto exchanges or related financial services.
- Previous experience as an Approved Person, Compliance Officer, MLRO or Head of Compliance within a regulated organisation.
- Strong working knowledge of the FSRA and/or DFSA regulatory frameworks.
- Practical exposure to VARA requirements is highly desirable.
- Hands‑on experience developing and operating AML/KYC, sanctions, transaction‑monitoring and financial crime frameworks.
- Understanding of institutional trading, custody, token‑listing and digital‑asset product risks.
- Experience engaging directly with regulators and managing licensing or authorisation processes.
- Ability to operate independently and exercise sound commercial and regulatory judgement.
- Strong communication skills, personal integrity and credibility with regulators, senior management and Board‑level stakeholders.
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