Natalia Rabicka

Natalia specializes in designing and assessing financial crime compliance frameworks covering anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorist financing (CTF), sanctions, fraud, export controls, and regulatory governance. She has extensive experience supporting organizations responding to regulatory enforcement actions, Deferred Prosecution Agreements, Cease and Desist Orders, and complex cross-border investigations involving global regulators and law enforcement agencies.

She has led large-scale transformation programs for global financial institutions, including sanctions screening remediation, transaction monitoring optimization, perpetual KYC, customer risk rating, model validation, financial crime technology implementation, and independent assurance reviews. Natalia has also advised organizations on emerging financial crime risks associated with digital assets, virtual asset service providers, blockchain technologies, AI-enabled compliance solutions, and geopolitical sanctions.

Natalia works extensively with banks, fintechs, crypto firms, payment companies, retail groups, charitable organizations, and other multinational corporates to strengthen governance, enhance compliance frameworks, and implement practical, technology-enabled financial crime controls.

Natalia combines deep regulatory knowledge with practical experience delivering complex financial crime programs across the Middle East, Europe, North America, and Asia. She regularly advises executive management, boards, regulators, and compliance leaders on sanctions, AML/CFT, digital assets, emerging technologies, and financial crime transformation initiatives.

Natalia’s professional experience includes:

• Financial Institutions – Led regulatory transformation programs for global banks covering sanctions screening, transaction monitoring, customer risk rating, perpetual KYC, financial crime operating model design, technology implementation, model validation, and remediation of regulatory findings arising from enforcement actions by the U.S., the UK, and international regulators.
• Federal Reserve Regulatory Programs – Led regulatory workstreams for international banks responding to Federal Reserve Cease and Desist Orders, including sanctions assurance reviews, remediation validation, and sanctions control testing.
• Financial Crime Systems Assurance – Established a financial crime systems assurance function within a major UK bank, developing testing methodologies across sanctions screening, transaction monitoring, trade finance screening, customer risk rating, and regulatory remediation.
• Crypto and Digital Assets – Supported a global cryptocurrency platform responding to a U.S. Department of Justice subpoena and advised a global investment bank on the launch of a digital asset custody offering, including blockchain analytics and financial crime controls.
• Fintech and Payments – Served as Product Owner for a fintech sanctions screening platform, leading product strategy and development of next-generation payment screening capabilities.
• Saudi Banking Sector – Led fraud risk framework assessments for a leading Saudi bank in response to SAMA Counter Fraud Framework requirements.
• Model Validation – Led independent validation of AML models for a leading United Arab Emirates bank, assessing the design and effectiveness of Perpetual KYC and Client Risk Rating models.
• Corporate Financial Crime Frameworks – Led enterprise-wide AML, sanctions, fraud, and governance assessments for multinational corporates, including Majid Al Futtaim, across multiple jurisdictions.
• Global Payment Provider / Middle Eastern FI – Led financial crime assessments across several Middle Eastern FIs on behalf of a global payment provider, supporting remediation programs and engagement with regulators and correspondent banks.
• Digital Payments and Card Manufacturing – Conducted AML/CFT, sanctions, and export controls assessments for payment technology businesses and led complex sanctions reviews involving cross-border card production activities.
• Geopolitical and Sanctions Advisory – Advised a major Asian charitable organization on potential U.S., UK, and EU sanctions impacting China and Hong Kong, including geopolitical risk mitigation strategies.
• Technology Transformation and AI – Led AI-enabled financial crime transformation programs, screening optimization initiatives, and technology implementations to enhance compliance effectiveness and operational efficiency.

Speaking Engagements and Publications

1. Navigating Financial Crime Compliance – Screening Roundtable Discussion; May 14, 2025.
2. Crypto and Digital Assets Regulation & Compliance conference, Panel, “Fighting Financial Crime following MiCA”; 10, 2024.