Financial Crimes Investigations Lead

Who we are

About Stripe

Stripe is a financial infrastructure platform for businesses. Millions of companies—from the world’s largest enterprises to the most ambitious startups—use Stripe to accept payments, grow their revenue, and accelerate new business opportunities. Our mission is to increase the GDP of the internet, and we have a staggering amount of work ahead. That means you have an unprecedented opportunity to put the global economy within everyone’s reach while doing the most important work of your career.

About the team

Stripe is both a technology company and a financial services company, and you will need to be comfortable straddling both of those worlds every day. The right person for the role will enjoy dealing with that puzzle, seeking creative solutions and moving quickly, often in the face of ambiguity. The right person for the role will also be comfortable getting their hands dirty by directly working on critical parts of the Americas financial crimes program, as well as being an effective people manager. 

The Financial Crimes, Compliance, and Risk Oversight (FinCRO) Investigations Management team is responsible for providing second line of defense (2LoD) financial crime risk oversight and coordination over casework, the management of user risk and other investigative oversight responsibilities for Stripe’s global operations. The Investigations Management function will take part in local exams, field financial partner inquiries, and respond to law enforcement or other external inquiries.

What you’ll do

We are looking for an Americas Financial Crimes Investigations Lead based in the US. This role focuses on leading a team of investigators and analysts conducting anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorist financing (CTF), sanctions, and other financial crimes and regulatory compliance investigations in support of Stripe's growing business.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of Financial Crime Analysts located across the Americas region (US, Canada, and Latin America)

• Provide guidance and support to the Americas team, in order to conduct a wide variety of analyses, potentially including:

  • Investigations into money laundering, terrorist financing and other financial crimes and reporting of this activity through Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) or Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs)

  • Conduct OFAC and BIS screening ('watchlist') and sanctioned jurisdictions screening (“keyword”) reviews, manually reviewing Stripe merchant accounts, and reviewing investigations work products, as part of Stripe’s sanctions program

  • Assessments of customer risks, including KYC and Due Diligence investigations for high risk customers, inclusive of Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs)

  • Management of customer risk to Stripe, including the assessment of user retention and offboarding of users

• Assist the team in the investigation and response to requests for information from banking and financial partners, including the direct management of financial partner relationships

• Drive complex intelligence investigations and analytical workstreams, coordinating with Stripe’s Complex and Major investigations teams

• Demonstrate sound judgment and an ability to navigate non-binary, high-risk decisions, and effectively communicate these decisions to the wider team

• Adhere closely to process while still constantly questioning assumptions, suggesting improvements, and following up implementation of those improvements

• Effectively and clearly communicate, including with other Stripes, Stripe's users, and Stripe's financial partners

• Demonstrate ownership of the Americas Financial Crimes program, and constantly seek improvements and accountability both within the team, as well as with our Financial Crimes Operations teams

Who you are

We’re looking for someone who meets the minimum requirements to be considered for the role. If you meet these requirements, you are encouraged to apply. The preferred qualifications are a bonus, not a requirement.

Minimum requirements

• 5+ years experience in investigations, operations, or advisory roles within financial crimes, AML, sanctions, risk, fraud, research, or a related field

• 2+ years experience leading financial crimes investigation teams of varying size and complexity

• Investigative expertise and strong knowledge of BSA, AML, US Patriot Act, and OFAC regulations

• Excellent research and writing skills

• Ability to synthesize large amounts of information, including transaction data

• Ability to work efficiently and independently in a fast-paced environment

• Ability to work cross-functionally with internal stakeholders

Preferred qualifications

• ACAMS, ACAMS CGSS or ACSS Certification

• Familiarity with evaluating STRs and other regulatory reports to FINTRAC and Canadian Law Enforcement, as well as SAR reporting and regulatory requirements in Brazil.

• MS Excel experience

• SQL abilities

• Familiarity with MacOS and Google products

• Technical curiosity and an interest in evolving sanctions, AML, or regulatory compliance trends

• Foreign language fluency, including Spanish or Portuguese