#FMFS 2021 Summit Spotlight: Karim Rajwani

Karim Rajwani, B.A., C.A., C.P.A., ACAMS

Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer at Scotiabank   

Follow the Money to Fight Slavery…A Banker’s Guide on Taking the Profit Out of Human Trafficking

Currently standing at a remarkable 40 years of anti-financial crime, risk management, and accounting experience, Karim Rajwani is not slowing down. 

As the Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Scotiabank, Karim leads the bank’s transaction monitoring, client risk rating and screening, and solution delivery remediation. Plus, the areas of global anti-money laundering (AML) rules, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning and Threat Monitoring programs are under his capable leadership as well. He is also tasked with the global responsibility for the AML Enterprise Project Management and Solution. 

It would almost seem as if Karim has done it all, in the world of finance and risk management. He is a chartered accountant in both Canada and the UK and has worked for management consulting and chartered accounting firms as well as financial institutions, overseeing the implementation of many enterprise-wide risk management and compliance initiatives. 

For over 15 years, Karim worked as the Chief of Anti-Money Laundering for the RBC Financial Group (RBC), where he oversaw the design, implementation, and daily management of the Anti- Money Laundering, Sanctions, Anti Bribery and Corruption, and High-Risk Client Management Compliance Programs. He was also responsible for the RBC’s AML Compliance and Financial Intelligence and data science teams globally. 

Karim also worked as the Global Head of Financial Crime investigations and Intelligence, the Global Head of Financial Crime Technology Strategy, and the UK Money Laundering Reporting Officer at Deutsche Bank. And, he served at Quantexa as the Global Head of AML Advisory. 

He was previously the Co-Chair of the Canadian Chapter of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) and remains a member of ACAMS. And from 2009 to 2012, Karim served as a member of the Advisory Council for National Security for the Prime Minister of Canada, and as a lecturer for the Master of Arts Financial Integrity Program at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. 

With such a long and distinguished career and notable credentials, we are elated to have Karim Rajwani on our team as a member of our Advisory Council, and are excitedly anticipating his participation in our first annual Follow Money Fight Slavery 2021 Virtual Summit.