Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Peer Review Judging
Speaking Engagements
Membership Advisor
Certifications Trainings
Scholarly Articles
Awards Recognitions
Certification
Timeline
Generic

REZAUL KARIM

Arlington,Texas

Summary

Seasoned compliance professional with expertise in financial crime investigations, regulatory adherence, and risk mitigation.

Overview

13
13
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification

Work History

Assistant Vice President – Investigations, Financial Crime, Compliance

HSBC Bangladesh
10.2023 - 12.2024
  • Conducted investigations into a wide range of financial crimes including money laundering, terrorist financing, fraud, bribery & corruption etc.
  • Reported suspected financial crime activities to the regulator and supported law enforcement enquiries.
  • Routinely apprised senior management on the investigation outcome and overall case progress status.
  • Collaborated with stakeholders to streamline processes and eliminate sources of error in investigations.
  • Provided guidance and training to staff on increasing their understanding of financial crime knowledge and effectively articulating or assisting in financial crime investigations to mitigate the risks for the bank.
  • I conducted financial crime investigations, addressing transaction monitoring alerts, regulatory escalations, and law enforcement inquiries while eliminating backlogs to ensure compliance.
  • Recognized as a high-performing investigator by HSBC’s Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, I also designed and delivered a trade-based money laundering training for 200 staff.
  • Additionally, I enhanced HSBC’s financial crime training curriculum, and my article on money mules was included in HSBC’s Global financial crime learning curriculum, equipping over 220,000 employees with critical risk insights.

Assistant Vice President – Risk Steward Oversight and Governance

HSBC Bangladesh
01.2021 - 10.2023
  • Delivered an effective risk reporting and oversight capability, enabling the Risk and Compliance function to maintain the risk steward view of the effectiveness of the financial crime risk framework and ensured that this view is communicated consistently to the country and regional governance forums.
  • Ensured compliance with enterprise risk management policy and procedures and timely escalated issues, vulnerabilities, regulatory and audit findings for necessary and timely management action.
  • Led initiatives to promote risk-aware culture, conducted training, and assessed staff’s knowledge on risk management including financial and non-financial risks.
  • Performed secretariat responsibilities for management meetings which are attended by top management including the CEO, CCO, and Exco members.
  • I developed HSBC’s first compliance regulatory reporting procedure, ensuring adherence to 140 regulatory obligations and mitigating risks.
  • I also introduced the bank’s first compliance instruction manual, standardizing processes and enhancing risk management.
  • As a key member of risk-management governance forums, I facilitated strategic compliance decisions.
  • Additionally, I designed the award-winning ‘Fraud Hunter Game,’ fostering a risk-aware culture and earning HSBC’s CEO Award for this innovative approach in increasing awareness on financial crimes.
  • My contributions played a vital role in maintaining the bank’s strong compliance performance.

Senior Analyst - Customer Due Diligence (CDD) / KYC

HSBC Bangladesh
09.2017 - 12.2020
  • Supervised day-to-day activities of CDD Operations to ensure Anti Money Laundering (AML) objectives are adequately planned, executed, measured, and monitored.
  • Completed analysis of transactional information to identify risk, trends, and potential wary activities.
  • Apprised senior management on regulatory matters and CDD developments through regular review of appropriate AML/CDD policies & procedures.
  • Analyzed and escalate Non-standard Business documentation to minimize risks & control issues.
  • Examined Enhanced due diligence report including Source of the wealth of analysis and prepared report on Questionable accounts and activities with higher money laundering concerns.
  • By single-handedly completing 30% and 24% of my team’s CDD profile reviews in 2019 and 2020, I helped eliminate backlogs and ensured regulatory compliance.
  • My smooth handling of high-risk customers, including politically exposed persons and high-net-worth individuals, safeguarded key relationships while maintaining AML/CFT standards.
  • In 2020, I identified and resolved a critical process vulnerability, earning recognition as a 'Speak-Up Hero' from HSBC's CEO.
  • Additionally, my work on policy reviews and process manual updates ensured alignment with evolving regulatory requirements.

Settlement and Dispute Officer

Standard Chartered Bank, Bangladesh
04.2016 - 08.2017
  • Resolved customer disputes concerning transactions performed through Debit and credit cards in POS, ATM and online platforms.
  • Handled all sort of customer queries & complaints related to dispute settlements.
  • Investigated and evaluated cases of disputes by obtaining required evidences for dispute merit analysis & Processed chargeback to other Bank and Communicated with customers, as needed, to keep them informed of their dispute progress and to gather relevant information to move forward with resolving dispute.
  • Ensured accuracy of Disputes and availability of required MIS data analysis for all customer complaints.
  • Monitored and reconciled various general settlement accounts related to pending disputes with partner bank.
  • Completed analysis of transactional information to identify risk, trends, and potential wary activities.
  • Successfully resolved 1000+ customer disputes annually across debit/credit card POS, ATM, and online channels, achieving a 99% resolution rate within regulatory timelines.
  • Processed and managed chargebacks worth over $20 million ensuring accurate evidence collection and merit analysis, with 100% recovery success rate.
  • Reduced average dispute resolution time from 45 days to 25 days improving customer satisfaction and compliance scores.
  • Produced and maintained accurate MIS data for 500+ monthly dispute cases, enabling management to identify trends and mitigate emerging risks.

Startup Founder

TeleTest Technologies
01.2012 - 12.2015
  • As a student entrepreneur founded an ed-tech startup named Teletest Technologies.
  • Led the startup from ideation to execution, including representing the startup idea in different international Business plan competitions held in Malaysia and the United States.
  • Reached the final round of Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) Tech I Competition 2013 held in Malaysia.
  • Notably, GIST is a key U.S. government program on innovation and entrepreneurship that President Barack Obama launched in 2009.
  • This global program identifies, highlights, and supports the most promising early-career global entrepreneurs with the ability, mindset, and thought leadership capabilities to apply science and technology to solve pressing global issues pertaining to Education, Poverty, Health, Energy, ICT, and more.
  • Reached the global final round of the Global Social entrepreneurship competition (GSEC) 2014, organized by Foster School of Business, University of Washington.
  • Won the most promising award and startup seed fund from Dell Education Challenge Competition.

Education

ICA Specialist Certificate - Trade-Based Money Laundering

International Compliance Association (ICA)
United Kingdom
01.2022

Certified Crypto-Currency investigator -

Blockchain Intelligence Group (BIG)
Canada
01.2020

Certified Anti Money Laundering Specialist -

Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS)
U.S.A.
01.2020

Bachelor of Business Administration - Marketing

University of Dhaka
Bangladesh
01.2015

Higher Secondary School Certificate -

Dhaka City College
Bangladesh
01.2009

Secondary School Certificate -

Nabakumar Institution
Bangladesh
01.2007

Skills

  • Financial crime investigations
  • Regulatory compliance
  • Risk management
  • Anti-money laundering
  • Risk governance and stewardship
  • KYC compliance

Peer Review Judging

  • Reviewed manuscripts, 22, Journal of Money Laundering Control, Journal of Financial Crime
  • Associate editor, International book on AML ‘The future of AML Compliance: trends and predictions’, 2024
  • Judge, International Compliance Association (ICA) Awards, Europe, 2025

Speaking Engagements

  • Fighting Financial Crime webinar, Sanctions Scanner, 2023
  • Financial Crime Summit, Lagos, Nigeria, 2023
  • Compliance Week National Summit, Washington DC, 2024
  • Webinar on Deepfake and AI, Sanctions Center, 2025

Membership Advisor

  • Advisory Board member, Compliance Week
  • Editorial Board member, E FOUR and AAF
  • Member, Association of certified anti-money laundering specialists (ACAMS)
  • Member, International Compliance Association (ICA)

Certifications Trainings

  • Certificate in Entrepreneurship, U.S. Department of State & CRDF Global
  • Certificate in Social Entrepreneurship, Foster school of Business, University of Washington
  • UNODC & International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA) summer school Graduate
  • Certificate in Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence - FIU & Operational independence
  • Certificate in Operational Risk Management, Financial Crimes in Banks, Prevention of Malpractices (AML/CFT), and Trade Based Money Laundering, Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management
  • Participated in various risk management training sessions, webinars, and workshops on AML, terrorist financing, and financial crime compliance.

Scholarly Articles

  • Old Trick, New Victims: The Rise of Money Mules During the Pandemic, ACAMS Today Website, 2020
  • Expected Changes in AML After COVID-19, International Book, 2020
  • Ponzi Scheme - A Never-Ending Global Battle, ACAMS Today’s 12th Law Enforcement Edition Magazine, 2022
  • Inflation: A Breeding Ground for Financial Crime, International Compliance Association (ICA) and Compliance Week Website, 2023
  • The Future of Anti-Money Laundering Compliance: Trends and Predictions, International Book, 2024
  • Deepfakes: A Silent Threat to Digital Integrity and AML Efforts, Compliance Week Website, 2024
  • Insights from FinCEN’s Year in Review 2023, ACAMS Today Website, 2024
  • Stablecoins: The New Epicenter of Crypto Fraud, International Compliance Association (ICA) Website, 2025
  • Financial Crime in the Shadows of the Dark Web, Compliance Week Website, 2025
  • The high price of Negligence: inside TD bank’s record fine, International Compliance Association (ICA) website, 2025

Awards Recognitions

  • AML Professional of the Month, International Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS), 2020
  • HSBC’s Speak-Up Hero award, 2021
  • The CEO Award, HSBC, 2022
  • Anti-Financial Crime (AFC) Guru, ACAMS U.S.A, 2024

Certification

  • Certified anti money laundering specialist

Timeline

Assistant Vice President – Investigations, Financial Crime, Compliance

HSBC Bangladesh
10.2023 - 12.2024

Assistant Vice President – Risk Steward Oversight and Governance

HSBC Bangladesh
01.2021 - 10.2023

Senior Analyst - Customer Due Diligence (CDD) / KYC

HSBC Bangladesh
09.2017 - 12.2020

Settlement and Dispute Officer

Standard Chartered Bank, Bangladesh
04.2016 - 08.2017

Startup Founder

TeleTest Technologies
01.2012 - 12.2015

ICA Specialist Certificate - Trade-Based Money Laundering

International Compliance Association (ICA)

Certified Crypto-Currency investigator -

Blockchain Intelligence Group (BIG)

Certified Anti Money Laundering Specialist -

Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS)

Bachelor of Business Administration - Marketing

University of Dhaka

Higher Secondary School Certificate -

Dhaka City College

Secondary School Certificate -

Nabakumar Institution

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