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About the Role

Wise is seeking a Head of Financial Crime Compliance and Money Laundering Reporting Officer to lead its Japan financial crime compliance program. This role involves protecting customers, preventing financial crime, and ensuring the company grows safely by translating Japanese requirements into effective policies, controls, and accountabilities.

Responsibilities

Lead the Japan financial crime programme and exercise responsibilities of Japan MLRO.
Set priorities and maintain a clear local framework covering anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing, proliferation financing and sanctions.
Translate Japanese requirements and Group standards into effective policies, controls and accountabilities.
Take on a local director appointment if required to meet regulatory expectations.
Lead financial crime regulatory engagement.
Coordinate engagement with the Ministry of Finance, Financial Services Agency, Kanto Local Finance Bureau and other relevant authorities.
Lead responses within your remit to inspections, information requests and findings.
Explain how our controls operate in practice.
Discharge the sanctions compliance mandate upon appointment.
Take responsibility for the relevant sanctions risk assessment, policies, mitigation measures, procedures, training and record-keeping arrangements.
Exercise required approvals within the agreed governance framework.
Bring matters requiring Board approval to the appropriate forum.
Lead financial crime risk assessments across customers, products, payment corridors, delivery channels and partnerships.
Use the findings to prioritise control improvements and assess proposed changes to the business.
Provide independent advice and challenge on identity verification, beneficial ownership, customer risk assessment, enhanced due diligence, ongoing monitoring, sanctions screening and controls addressing anti-social forces.
Lead risk-based second-line monitoring and testing, collaborating with the APAC Compliance Monitoring and Testing function.
Work with Data, Engineering and Operations to assess coverage, data quality, rules and thresholds.
Use investigation outcomes and emerging typologies to improve detection.
Require accountable teams to address control weaknesses, agree clear owners and deadlines, and verify that remediation addresses the underlying problem.
Exercise delegated authority to require protective action where necessary and escalate matters beyond your authority promptly.
Advise on new products, payment flows, customer segments and Wise Platform arrangements.
Establish clear financial crime control requirements and exercise assigned compliance approvals before launch or material change.
Assess the activities performed by regional and global teams and outsourced providers, including quality, timeliness and backlogs.
Ensure global capabilities meet Japan’s requirements and escalate unresolved gaps.
Present financial crime risks, incidents, control performance and remediation to the Japan Risk and Compliance Committee and Board.
Exercise delegated approvals, identify matters requiring escalation and make clear recommendations on resources and management action.
Deliver practical guidance and training, coach colleagues handling complex issues and help teams understand their responsibilities.
Translate regulatory developments into timely changes to the programme.

Requirements

Substantial financial crime compliance experience in Japan, typically ten or more years, including leadership of a significant programme, function or control area.
Strong working knowledge of the Act on Prevention of Transfer of Criminal Proceeds, Payment Services Act, Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act, and relevant Ministry of Finance and Financial Services Agency guidance.
Ability to apply Japanese regulatory requirements to a digital payments business.
Understanding of customer due diligence, transaction monitoring, sanctions, investigations and Japanese suspicious transaction reporting, including how these controls interact.
Experience making consequential compliance decisions, documenting reasoning, and challenging senior stakeholders constructively.
Ability to maintain an independent position under pressure and recognise when escalation is necessary.
Substantial experience managing Japanese regulatory engagement, inspections or remediation.
Experience with Ministry of Finance foreign-exchange inspections would be particularly valuable.
Ability to set priorities, develop colleagues and secure action across teams outside your reporting line.
Comfortable working within a wider compliance function while taking responsibility for your own mandate.
Strong professional fluency in Japanese and English.
Ability to interpret regulatory materials, prepare clear governance papers and explain complex issues to technical and non-technical audiences.
Ability to use data to assess risk and control performance, question assumptions and work with specialists to improve monitoring and screening.
Ability to turn complex issues into practical plans, establish ownership and follow through to demonstrable results.
Comfortable moving between strategic oversight and detailed problem-solving.
Desire to understand how our products work and how to prevent their misuse.
Ability to develop proportionate controls that protect customers and support straightforward customer experiences.
Previous experience as an MLRO, deputy MLRO, officer responsible for sanctions compliance or Japan financial crime lead would be valuable.
Experience with cross-border payments, digital onboarding or platform partnerships would be welcome.
Qualifications such as CAMS or ICA would be welcome.

Skills

Financial crime compliance
Anti-money laundering
Counter-terrorist financing
Sanctions compliance
Regulatory engagement
Risk assessment
Customer due diligence
Transaction monitoring
Suspicious transaction reporting
Leadership
Influence
Communication
Data analysis
Problem-solving
Project delivery

Location

Japan

Work Type

Full-time

Experience Level

Senior
10+ years

Benefits

Flexible working
Paid annual holiday
Sick days
Parental leave
Other leave opportunities
6 weeks of paid sabbatical after 4 years at Wise on top of annual leave

About the Company

Wise is a global technology company, building the best way to move and manage the world’s money.
Min fees. Max ease. Full speed.
Wise is on a mission to make people's and businesses' lives easier and save them money when sending money internationally, spending abroad, or making and receiving international payments.
We help people and businesses move and manage money internationally, making their lives easier and saving them money.

Equal Opportunity

For everyone, everywhere. We're people building money without borders — without judgement or prejudice, too.
We believe teams are strongest when they are diverse, equitable and inclusive.
We're proud to have a truly international team, and we celebrate our differences.
Inclusive teams help us live our values and make sure every Wiser feels respected, empowered to contribute towards our mission and able to progress in their careers.