by Zeynep Arslangiray Yasar
For my co-operative placement, I was employed as an Anti-Money Laundering Investigator at Financial Intelligence Unit of Bank of Montreal from May until December 2018. This opportunity stemmed from the co-operative option in the MA program in Political Science at the University of Waterloo and although I had previous work experience in this profession, the co-op program allowed me to gain further experience as an international student. Anti-Money Laundering investigators analyze the typologies, trends and anomalies in complex transactional and customer data to detect, prevent, mitigate and report suspicious activity related to money laundering, human trafficking and terrorist financing. Over the course of my placement, I was able to familiarise myself with new typologies specific to Canadian financial system and expand my knowledge through various responsibilities.
Bank of Montreal’s Financial Intelligence Unit performs adjudication and investigation services for the enterprise in a similar way. It adjudicates system generated unusual transactions (i.e. alerts) and investigates cases for determination of suspicious transactions that must be reported to Canada’s financial intelligence unit, The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC). During my placement, I was assigned with numerous system-generated alerts with various typologies. While working on these alerts, I conducted research based on an end-to-end and risk-based approach, determined whether the activity is unusual or not and if a continued relationship with the customer or customers represents an unacceptable risk to BMO Financial Group.
In addition to these responsibilities, another significant part of my co-op placement was training. Bank of Montreal has a premium training program provided by seasoned team leaders where each new employee undergoes a comprehensive tutoring process based on various aspects of prevention of money laundering, human trafficking and terrorist financing. This training program exposed me to new money laundering and human trafficking schemes and diverse approaches to establishing customer relations. Moreover, Bank of Montreal provides further opportunities to its employees to improve themselves by attending seminars outside of the bank such as Community Forum on Human Trafficking in Niagara.
In short, I have learned a great deal from my co-op placement and I attribute this to the fact that I was given the opportunity to be challenged as a professional. Not only have I developed my current capabilities, but I have cultivated new skills as well. Ultimately, my two co-op terms prepared me for my future role at Bank of Montreal and provided me with the opportunity to network and meet people in various roles in anti-money laundering. I eagerly look forward to the next step in my career and thank the co-operative program at the University of Waterloo for providing me this opportunity.