George Sortanos

Georgios Sortanos MSc (Law), FICA Senior Financial Crime Compliance Leader | Board Advisor | Trainer| Public Speaker ▪ -▪ - ▪ in LinkedIn (British citizen) A dedicated, performance-driven, Financial Crime Compliance (FCC, AML, CTF, ABC) professional with a strategic and analytical approach and acute communication skills leveraged from cultural awareness, diversity, and international market exposure. In-depth experience gained within the Banking (Top Tier US Banks), Financial Services and Consulting (Big 4 firm) sectors both from 1st and 2nd Line of Defence and was previously approved by the FCA as a Nominated Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) for an Electronic Money Institution (EMI). Passionate and customer-focused, harnessing successes leveraged through a wealth of experience in leading and facilitating teams and organisations. Brings to the firm skills leveraged from advisory roles for clients and stakeholders and the rare blend of creative experience and commercial acumen. SELECTED AREAS OF EXPERTISE Leadership & Management ▪ Stakeholder Engagement ▪ Strategic Direction ▪ Finance ▪ Business Growth & Development ▪ Financial Crime ▪ Global Banking ▪ Board Advisory ▪ Anti-Money Laundering ▪ Anti- Bribery & Corruption ▪ Public Speaker ▪ Commercial Acumen ▪ GDPR ▪ Banking ▪ FCA/ NCA/ ICO reporting-representation ▪ Business Risk ▪ Sanctions ▪ SAR/STR Report writing ▪ Policies and procedures ▪ Horizon scanning ▪ Risk, Gap and Impact assessments ▪ Framework design and oversight ▪ Monitoring plans ▪ Investigations and Transaction Monitoring ▪ Due Diligence ▪ Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) ▪ Staff training and mentoring ▪ Technological projects involvement ▪ Consumer Duty ▪ Global Banking and Markets BOARD & OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS ➢ Public Speaker for Regulatory and Compliance matters | Compliance Week Europe ➢ Nominated Financial Crime Board Advisory on Compliance matters |Paysend Plc ➢ Board’s Nominated Treasury Officer for consultation on investment products with banks |J.U.A.D.N. - SELECTED CAREER PIMCO EUROPE LIMITED (CONTRACT-LONDON, UK) • Strategic Leadership & Advisory: Engaged directly with senior management, client-facing teams, and alternative business areas, providing expert oversight on regulatory compliance and financial crime risks. • Governance & Compliance Strategy: Led the provision of high-impact compliance advisory services and ensured the timely delivery of critical management information (MI) to support strategic decision-making. • Regulatory & Risk Oversight: A key figure within the EMEA Regulatory Compliance and Global Sanctions team, responsible for escalation decisions, approvals, and proactive risk identification—shaping compliance programs and optimising resource allocation accordingly. • Regulatory Horizon Scanning & Policy Development: Anticipated regulatory changes, assessed industry best practices, and translated evolving regulatory expectations into robust financial crime policies to strengthen compliance frameworks across the EMEA region. • Senior-Level Decision-Making & Escalations: Deputising for UK and EMEA MLROs, making critical escalation decisions on high-risk transactions, client onboarding, and sanction-sensitive trades, ensuring compliance with global regulatory expectations. • Audit-Ready Compliance Program Development: Spearheaded the design of a risk-based, audit-ready compliance framework, reinforcing first-line controls and advising IT teams on AI-driven compliance initiatives. • Global Anti-Financial Crime Program Execution: Led cross-functional implementation of anti-financial crime programs, ensuring rigorous testing, monitoring, and policy adherence across local and global operations. • Enterprise Risk Management & Board-Level Reporting: Directed enhancements in Anti-Financial Crime risk assessments (AML, ABC, Sanctions), providing strategic counsel to MLROs and senior stakeholders on risk mitigation. • People & Operational Leadership: Managed and mentored financial crime analysts, overseeing critical screening investigations and strengthening the organisation’s financial crime compliance capabilities. 1 DELOITTE LLP (PERMANENT-LONDON, UK) • Strategic Regulatory Oversight & Due Diligence: Led consultation and assurance for the acquisition of a credit institution by a mid-sized UK retail bank, conducting in-depth policy reviews, risk assessments (CRA /AML / Sanctions / CDD /ABC/Fraud), and sample testing. Findings from the due diligence process led to the cancellation of the acquisition, mitigating significant regulatory and financial risks. • Regulatory Alignment & Cross-Border Advisory: Advised on AML enhancements for a US bank’s risk assessment, aligning its framework with UK regulatory standards. Provided strategic counsel to a leading European bank on compliance matters in the UK payments sector, enabling informed decision-making for new cross-border virtual account products. • Public Sector Compliance Assurance: Led financial crime compliance health checks for a public sector department, assessing AML, ABC, and TPRM policies of a non-FI entity. Recommendations resulted in the department requesting further clarifications to address identified gaps in regulatory compliance. • Regulatory & Internal Audit Risk Reviews: Directed gap analysis in a top-tier bank’s risk reduction plan, ensuring internal audit alignment with regulatory expectations. Led advisory support for a major bank’s Skilled Person Readiness review following an FCA investigation. • Leadership in Governance, Mentorship & Budget Oversight: Managed and mentored project teams, ensuring successful project delivery across engagements with varying team sizes. Provided oversight for project budgets exceeding £250,000, maintaining financial discipline and operational efficiency. • Thought Leadership & Industry Influence: Published financial crime and regulatory trend articles for Deloitte’s global Financial Crime community, contributing to regulatory excellence and thought leadership within the sector. • Training & Capability Building: Led the development and delivery of financial crime compliance training programs, educating teams on FCC, ABC, AML, and fraud risks. Designed and presented regulatory updates to audiences of over 100 professionals, including key stakeholders. • Framework & Compliance Tool Development: Spearheaded the creation of AML, ABC, and Sanctions compliance tools, including risk assessment templates, due diligence questionnaires, and control frameworks. Provided strategic advisory on ABC compliance and developed horizon-scanning tools to support regulatory readiness. • Business Enablement & Financial Crime Advisory: Provided subject matter expertise on Correspondent Banking and Consumer Duty, delivering high-impact training sessions. Successfully led and secured financial crime compliance client proposals, reinforcing governance structures through bespoke AML and ABC frameworks. BANK OF AMERICA MERRILL LYNCH (BAML) (PERMANENT-LONDON, UK) • Global Data Protection & Regulatory Risk Oversight: Led investigations and risk assessments related to Data Protection and GDPR incidents across the US, UK, EMEA, and APAC, with a focus on regulatory impact and risk mitigation. • Regulatory Strategy & Stakeholder Engagement: Served as a key escalation point for stakeholders and regulatory reporting, conducting horizon scanning on evolving Data Protection regulations to ensure proactive compliance. • Governance & Policy Advisory: Provided strategic GDPR recommendations, guiding procedural enhancements and regulatory adaptations. Established robust regulatory update mechanisms to inform business functions and strengthen governance frameworks. • Client-Centric Risk Mitigation & Operational Excellence: Recognized by Senior Management for facilitating a seamless onboarding experience for high-profile Platinum clients, balancing compliance requirements with business efficiency. • First Line of Defence (1LOD) Reviews & Control Enhancements: Conducted operational procedure reviews, advising on control improvements and acting as a quality reviewer for employee records in client onboarding, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards. • Data-Driven Compliance Monitoring & MI Automation: Led the automation of trend analysis using advanced Excel formulas to generate meaningful Management Information (MI) on associates' quality, enhancing data-driven decision-making. 2 • Efficiency in Complex Entity Onboarding: Spearheaded the simplification of EMEA procedures to accelerate the onboarding process for complex entities, including Trusts, Funds, and Charities, improving operational efficiency. • Reg-Tech Innovation & Global Recognition: Played a pivotal role in initiating Reg-Tech projects, receiving global recognition for optimizing the onboarding journey for sensitive clients through technology-driven solutions. • AML/KYC/Sanctions Compliance & Risk Advisory: Appointed as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) on AML, KYC, PEPs, and Sanctions compliance, leveraging SWOT and root cause analysis to expedite onboarding while ensuring adherence to regulatory expectations. • Thought Leadership & Stakeholder Communication: Led compliance and operational advisory for high-networth (HNW) clients and internal teams. Established a regulatory newsletter to enhance stakeholder awareness and understanding of evolving compliance requirements. CAREER CHRONOLOGY ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ Career Break due to family issues-Caregiving October 2024- Present Epistament Ltd - Founder and Director (UK consultancy for training and research) December 2023- Present Pimco Europe Limited (via Eames Consulting)-AFC Compliance Consultant January 2024- September 2024 Career Break due to family issues-Caregiving August 2023- November 2023 Deloitte LLP - Financial Crime Manager, Forensic, Financial Advisory November 2021 -July 2023 BAML - AVP, Privacy Events Manager & Account & Reviewing Specialist October 2018 - November 2021 Citibank - Senior AML Analyst (contract) February 2018 - August 2018 PaySend Plc- Compliance Officer & FCA approved MLRO April 2017 -November 2017 JN Money Services (UK) Ltd- Compliance Officer (Financial Services) January 2016- March 2017 Further chronology available upon request EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS ▪ Fellow Member | International Compliance Association (ICA) ▪ Lifetime Member | The University of Law ▪ Member | Association of Compliance Officers in Greece (ASCO Greece) ▪ MSc in Law and Financial Crime Compliance (with commendation) | The University of Law ▪ ICA Professional Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Crime Compliance | Alliance Manchester Business SchoolUniversity of Manchester ▪ ICA Diploma in Financial Crime Prevention | Alliance Manchester Business School-University of Manchester ▪ Diploma in Finance & Business | Greek Ministry of Education ▪ Certificate in AML/CTF | CCL Academy ▪ Certificate in Computer Science | Control Data College ▪ Languages: English (fluent), Greek (fluent), German (intermediate) SOFTWARE FCA Connect | Regdata | Microsoft office Suite| ACL | LexisNexis | World-check | Owls| VGR | Factiva | PEGA | LEO | DMC | AMC | GDS | Capital | Eurofasma | WordPress |Unix | Tableau | Finscan | PAM 3