Deputy MLRO ​/ Head of Compliance

Torus Mara Finance Inc () is an international money service business headquartered in Canada, with a US parent company. Torus Mara provides modern financial services for institutions, corporations, and SMEs operating in emerging markets. Today, Torus Mara focuses on the corridors between global markets with G10 currencies (US, UK, Canada, and EU) and African markets with local currencies (NGN, GHS, XOF, XAF, KES, ZAR, UGX).

Our UK arm, Torus Financial Limited, is authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) and is now building out and scaling its UK operations. With authorization secured, we are strengthening the compliance team that will support the business as it launches products and grows transaction volumes.

We are seeking an experienced Deputy MLRO / Head of Compliance to take day-to-day ownership of the AML and financial-crime compliance function of our UK EMI. This is a hands-on, operational role. Now that authorization is in place and the business is live, the focus has shifted from designing the framework to running, embedding, and continuously improving it as the firm scales.

The ideal candidate has a deep, practical understanding of the FCA’s financial-crime and AML regime for Electronic Money Institutions and payments firms, and is comfortable being the senior compliance presence in the UK business. Reporting into senior management, the successful candidate will own the day-to-day compliance workload, deputize for the MLRO, and be ready to represent the firm to the FCA and other authorities as the team develops.

• Maintain, test, and enhance AML/CTF policies, procedures, and controls so they remain aligned with the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (MLR 2017), JMLSG guidance, and the FCA’s Financial Crime Guide and SYSC requirements.
• Keep the firm-wide and business-line money-laundering and terrorist-financing risk assessments current as products, corridors, and volumes evolve.
• Oversee customer due diligence (CDD), enhanced due diligence (EDD) for higher-risk customers and corridors, and ongoing KYC refreshes.
• Manage transaction monitoring, sanctions and PEP screening, and the timely investigation and clearance of alerts.
• Act as the point of receipt for internal suspicious activity reports; review, and where appropriate submit, Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) to the National Crime Agency / UK Financial Intelligence Unit, and manage any defence-against-money-laundering (DAML) consent requests.

• Prepare and submit regulatory returns via Reg Data, including the annual financial crime report (REP-CRIM), and meet all applicable notification obligations.
• Maintain comprehensive, auditable records of SARs, CDD, screening, transaction monitoring, and risk assessments in line with FCA and MLR 2017 requirements.

• Design and run a compliance monitoring program that tests the effectiveness of key controls and tracks remediation to closure.
• Support internal and external audits, skilled-person-style reviews, and regulator information requests.

• Develop and deliver AML/CTF and wider compliance training to educate staff on their responsibilities and obligations.
• Promote a strong culture of compliance and raise awareness of financial-crime risk across the UK business and its group counterparts.

• Stay up to date with changes in AML and financial-crime legislation, regulation, and best practice, and translate them into operational change.
• Support engagement with the FCA and other regulatory authorities on AML-related matters, and act as a senior point of contact - including deputizing during the MLRO’s absence.

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., finance, business, law) or equivalent practical experience.
• At least 5 years in an AML / financial-crime compliance role within financial services, ideally at an Electronic Money Institution, payments firm, or MSB regulated in the UK.
• Strong, practical…