Vancouver Chapter

Alexander Tarasov is a seasoned Risk and Compliance professional with over 10 years of experience in the financial services industry. He is passionate about supporting organizations to achieve their goals while complying with the applicable laws and regulations. He has a proven track record of establishing and implementing various elements of Regulatory Compliance Management program. He also has extensive knowledge and skills in operationalization of GRC Applications, project management, problem-solving, and stakeholder engagement.

Alexander has worked in various roles and capacities across the financial services industry, including banking and hedge funds administration. He has led and participated in numerous regulatory compliance projects related to AML/ATF, Privacy, Governance, and Consumer Protection. He has also developed and delivered training programs and workshops on various compliance topics and best practices.

He has served on the Board of Directors for several organizations, including publicly traded companies, and is passionate about supporting causes that benefit the local communities. He is a lifelong learner who believes in sharing his knowledge and experience with others. He is committed to fostering a strong network of AML professionals and promoting a culture of compliance and excellence.

Martin is the Founder and Principal of Edge Compliance Advisors, which provides securities and AML/ATF advisory services to securities registered and financial planning firms ranging from building comprehensive compliance programs to delivering specific mandates like examination readiness, effectiveness reviews, policies and procedures, as well as training. In addition, Martin also holds the position of Chief Compliance Officer under the Shared CCO Model for select firms.

Prior to this, over the course of six years, Martin was the Chief Compliance Officer for the Global Asset Management, Private Wealth, and the fund distribution business lines of HSBC Canada. Earlier in his career, he worked at CIBC Asset Management, Mercer in Ireland, and had a financial planning practice with Investors Group.

Martin is a graduate of Concordia University where he received a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance and Marketing. He is also a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and holds a certification from the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS).

Ivan is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in Canada and Hong Kong, as well as a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS), demonstrating his expertise and commitment to the field of risk and compliance. He is also a former Vice President of Global Financial Crimes Crimes Compliance at JPMorgan Chase where he led teams of compliance professionals and oversaw the development and implementation of compliance policies and procedures. Early in his career, he worked at KPMG and PwC in Hong Kong providing exceptional management consulting services to top tier financial services firms.

Nirosha Amarasinghe is a Sanctions Compliance Manager at the world's largest virtual currency exchange, Binance. Nirosha functions in a global role providing stakeholders across compliance and broader Binance teams with effective strategic advice to manage Sanctions, Anti Bribery & Corruption (ABC) and Counter Terrorist Financing (CTF) related risks. She implements, and oversees compliance frameworks, critically evaluating processes to identify compliance risks associated with Binance's activities, whilst staying abreast of regulatory and internal developments that affect Binance globally. Nirosha also liaises and negotiates with external stakeholders, ranging from regulators, auditors to industry bodies/associations. Nirosha Actively contributes and leads internal and industry-wide knowledge management initiatives, fostering exchange of knowledge on evolving regulations and risk typologies in order to enhance Sanctions, ABC & CTF knowledge within the industry.

Prior to joining Binance Nirosha held the position of Lead Regulatory Compliance Manager at First West Credit Union in British Columbia, Canada. Her role entailed providing consultation and direction to management to implement and maintain policies and infrastructure in accordance with associated regulatory expectations. Nirosha played a key role in the Federal continuance journey of First West and shared her knowledge and expertise in the process of this provincial credit union becoming a federal credit union. Nirosha collaborated and interacted with leadership and key stakeholders at all levels throughout the Credit Union, providing expert advice and consultation.

Prior to joining First West Nirosha was with HSBC Bank Canada. She played a key role in the compliance function during the period HSBC was undergoing the Deferred Prosecution Action (DPA) imposed by the US Government and played an integral part in compliance scrutiny of the Monitor and Skilled Person appointed by the US Department of Justice. She carried out in-depth analysis of rules, regulations, and policies to identify emerging compliance risks, assessing the materiality of policy gaps, reviewing the design and operating effectiveness of controls to mitigate Financial Crime and Regulatory Risks. Her work was highly commended by internal and external stakeholders.

Prior to joining HSBC Bank, Nirosha was with BMO Bank of Montreal, which is one of the largest banks in Canada. She specialized in Canadian Retail Banking and Wealth Management industries during the period she was with BMO.

Prior to joining the Bank of Montreal, Nirosha was with ICICI Bank in Sri Lanka, where she held the position of a Compliance Manager. She was a pioneer member of the management team recruited to set up the Banking operation in Sri Lanka. Prior to ICICI, Nirosha was with AVIVA Insurance, a UK Based insurance company. She held the positions, Sales Administration Manager and Sales Compliance Manager at AVIVA.

During her career, Nirosha had the opportunity to attend various compliance and legal programs in a few countries such as, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Singapore etc. In addition to ACAMS Vancouver Chapter Board, Nirosha also sits on a few other boards and shares her knowledge and expertise with a larger segment of the community, in a volunteer capacity.

Nirosha was an Attorney-at-Law in Sri Lanka and holds a LL.B Degree. She also holds the Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) designation from ACAMS, USA and Chartered Marketer designation from Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), UK.

Rachel is an accomplished professional with nearly a decade of experience spanning both public and private sectors, and a strong commitment to contributing to anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing efforts in Canada.

Holding designations as both a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist and a Certified Financial Crimes Specialist, Rachel's dedication to continuous education reflects her determination to remain at the forefront of the field. She strongly believes in collaboration, accountability, and innovation —values that she strives to embody in all aspects of her work.

Bringing her wealth of experience, commitment to excellence, and strong values, she aims to make significant contributions to the ACAMS Vancouver Chapter board's objectives as the Director of Programming.

Zoe is a seasoned Risk and Compliance Professional with extensive experience in the financial sector. Zoe currently serves as the Vice-President, Compliance at First West Credit Union were she also acts as the Chief Anti-Money Laundering Officer (CAMLO) and Chief Privacy Officer providing strategic compliance direction organization wide. Zoe’s recent work involves leading the implementation of corporate compliance infrastructure to meet robust OSFI standards as part of First West’s federal continuance journey.

Zoe is an expert on the intricacies of laws governing Federal Financial Institutions, she is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), and has certifications from the International Compliance Association (ICA) and Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP).

Zoe’s technical acumen is complemented by a strategic approach that involves cultivating strong and collaborative relationships with key stakeholders, industry peers and regulators.

As a trusted advisor and strategic partner Zoe effectively balances the risks and trade-offs of complex regulations and operational challenges to support effective execution of corporate objectives.

Zoe has a proven track record building and managing highly effective compliance programs both in Canada and abroad. Zoe is no stranger to the benefits of having an agile approach, honing her skills as Head of the AML Office at HSBC Bank Canada as well as various compliance and operational roles at global banks during her time in Canada and the UK.

Zoe is passionate about mentoring and empowering women in leadership and serves as the executive sponsor of the First West’s women’s network.

Saurabh is CEO and Founder of Ethical Growth Partners, which provides Business coaching, Risk Advisory and Cybersecurity services.

As part of his professional journey of 21+ years, Saurabh has worked with EY, JPMorgan, United Health Group, EXL and BDO in various roles. He has extensive experience in managing transition and transformation projects ranging from the incubation of new services to change management, risk management, deployment of enterprise-wide tools and transitioning service delivery processes from different geographies to Global Delivery Centers in Europe and India. Besides earning his MBA in Project Management at Sikkim Manipal University, India, Saurabh obtained his Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) and Certified Global Sanctions Specialist (CGSS) certifications in 2019 and 2020 respectively. He also holds the PMI's Project Management Professional (PMP) designation.