Investigations & Disputes

Financial Crimes

Secretariat delivers integrated Financial Crime Compliance services that help organizations manage AML, KYC, sanctions, and ABC risks through tailored, risk-based solutions aligned with global regulatory standards.

Our Financial Crime Compliance solutions help organizations anticipate and respond to today’s complex regulatory demands backed by a global team with deep regulatory insight, forensic expertise, and cross-border experience.  We support clients across the full financial crime landscape, whether it’s strengthening anti-money laundering controls, conducting sanctions risk assessments, or supporting regulatory remediation efforts We tailor our approach to each client’s risk profile, operating environment, and sector-specific challenges.

We go beyond check-the-box compliance by combining investigative rigor, advanced analytics, and industry best practices to build frameworks that are practical, defensible, and adaptable. From strategic advisory to targeted control reviews, we support clients in embedding financial crime compliance into their governance structures, helping them respond to immediate pressures, and build sustainable compliance for the future.

Our comprehensive financial crime compliance services include:

Anti-Money Laundering and Regulatory Compliance

Organizations face rising pressure to meet evolving Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements often struggle with legacy systems, compliance backlogs, and unclear regulatory expectations resulting in operational inefficiencies, enforcement risk, and reputational exposure.

We build robust, risk-based AML frameworks that align with both domestic regulations and international standards. From policy design to remediation execution, we guide clients through all stages of their compliance journey.

We support clients with:

  • Enhancement of Anti-Money Laundering/Counter-Terrorist Financing  policies, procedures, and governance frameworks
  • Independent compliance reviews, gap analysis, and control testing
  • End to end remediation planning and execution
  • Transaction monitoring system evaluation and optimization
  • Targeted AML training and awareness programs

Anti-Bribery and Corruption

Heightened global scrutiny around bribery and corruption risks has exposed organizations to significant legal, financial, and reputational risks, particularly in high-risk jurisdictions and third-party engagements. We lead discreet, defensible investigations into allegations of bribery and corruption, leveraging forensic analysis and cross-border expertise. We also support clients in preventing misconduct through targeted Anti-Bribery and Corruption (ABC) risk assessments and compliance program enhancement.

We support clients with:

  • Anti-Bribery and Corruption risk assessments tailored to industry, geography, and exposure
  • Investigations into whistleblower allegations, internal misconduct, and third-party violations
  • Framework enhancements aligned to FCPA, UK Bribery Act, and other global standards
  • Support during settlements, regulatory monitorships, or board-mandated reviews
  • Remediation plans, training delivery, and control testing

Financial Crime Risk Assessments

Organizations often lack a clear view of their financial crime risk exposure across geographies, customer segments, and products and channels, resulting in regulatory exposure, enforcement actions, and reputational damage.

We conduct targeted and enterprise-wide financial crime risk assessments that evaluate inherent and residual risks against current controls. Our data-driven, judgment-informed approach helps organizations prioritize resources, strengthen controls, and meet evolving expectations.

We support clients with:

  • Assessments across Anti-Money Laundering/Counter-Terrorist Financing, sanctions, fraud, and jurisdictional risk
  • Structured scoring models, heatmaps, and risk dashboards
  • Framework evaluations and control gap analysis
  • Development of Key Risk Indicators and governance structures
  • Co-designed remediation roadmaps and action plans

Know-Your-Customer and Enhanced Due Diligence

Weak onboarding controls, fragmented due diligence processes, and insufficient screening practices expose institutions to compliance failures and high-risk counterparties. We enhance Know Your Customer (KYC) and Know Your Business (KYB) frameworks with scalable, risk-based controls, from onboarding to periodic review. For higher-risk exposures, we deliver tailored Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) solutions that meet regulatory scrutiny and reduce third-party risk.

We support clients with:

  • Design and optimization of onboarding and customer classification models
  • Customer Due Diligence/Enhanced Due Diligence protocols for Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), complex entities, and high-risk geographies
  • Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) mapping, Source of Wealth (SOW) and Source of Funds (SOF) analysis
  • Sanctions and Politically Exposed Persons screening review and escalation protocols
  • Operational support for backlog remediation, KYC file reviews, and refresh cycles

Transaction Monitoring and Suspicious Activity Reporting

Institutions struggle to manage high false positives in transaction monitoring, leading to alert fatigue and inconsistent investigative standards, which in turn result in delayed or missed Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) and increased compliance risk. We strengthen end-to-end monitoring workflows, improving alert triage, investigation quality, and SAR decision-making. We also lead retrospective lookbacks to identify past gaps and support remediation efforts.

We support clients with:

  • Alert investigation support and SAR drafting
  • Review and tuning of transaction monitoring systems
  • Retrospective lookbacks and thematic reviews
  • Escalation procedures, workflow design, and documentation standards
  • Temporary surge support during periods of increased volume

Key Experts

Edward Westerman

Managing Director

San Francisco

+1 415 517 6853

Bhavin Shah

Managing Director

Dubai

+971 55 305 1777

Greg Hallahan

Managing Director

Hong Kong

+852 9785 2700

Marcel Etschenberg

Managing Director

Munich

Brian Stapleton

Managing Director

London

+44 7551 216692

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