Darja Golosuja – a detective who works in a bank

When Darja worked at a bank branch, she realized that she was interested in prevention of money laundering, so when she noticed an opening in Compliance department, she applied immediately. “It’s a wide and interesting area where you have to know the legislation, business logic and a lot of other things while you are investigating suspicious transactions,” says Darja.

Tell us about your journey in SEB!

I have a bachelor’s degree in communication sciences and I worked in this area for a while, but I soon realized that it was not my calling. So I started looking for something else and found a job ad where SEB was looking for a branch employee.

I didn’t have any previous experience in banking, but it seemed interesting. So I applied, was hired and started working. That was in 2017, and I spent one and a half years working in the branch until I had learned everything I could in that position.

During this time I realized that I am interested in anti-money laundering. So when I noticed the ad that SEB Global Services is looking for an AML monitoring officer, I applied and got this position. Recently I have moved on to my next role – Business Analyst.

What are the responsibilities of a business analyst in AML area?

In a nutshell, my task is to find the most optimal solutions for our team to be able to efficiently monitor our client transactions and identify any suspicious activity. There are many IT systems involved, each of them has its own parameters and systems are constantly changing due to new external requirements or our own requests. My role is to connect the incoming requirements from our stakeholders from one side with our IT developers from the other side, and make these changes happen.

What are the things you find exciting in your job?

The investigation process is very interesting. You are working like a detective. You have to know the laws, you have to know the business of your clients and you have to be able to understand whether client’s transactions are adequate.

It is not a secret that there are people who are looking for ways to launder their illicit money. We are a line of defence against such attempts and our task is to safeguard the bank and its reputation.

The added value is that as a result of my work people and companies who are doing illegal activities will get caught. It contributes to a greater good of our society.

In which directions would you like to develop yourself in the future?

I am quite new in my current role and there’s a lot for me to learn. So for the foreseeable future I see myself in my current position, but I would like to learn new technical skills such as basics of programming. I don’t have an ambition to become a software developer, but it would help me to understand my IT colleagues better and be a better partner for them. I will do it as soon as I finish my Master’s degree.

What’s it like – working in SEB?

Previously, I had the impression that people in the bank are very serious and strict. When I joined the bank, I realized that colleagues are very friendly, open and forthcoming. SEB is a large organization with a good reputation, and I like to be a part of it, I like to belong to something bigger. SEB is involved in many charity projects, and this is important to me as well. For example, every Christmas we have a charity event where employees can help the elderly or orphans, and I always take part in it.

Can you reveal what are your hobbies?

I enjoy yoga. I wanted to try it for a long time, and I started doing it last year. Now I am taking my yoga classes online three or four times each week, and it helps me to recharge both mentally and physically.

I collect postcards from museums – I have almost 200 cards. I recently received a vinyl record player as a gift, so I have started collecting vinyl records as well. I enjoy the ambience of vinyl records, and I am only collecting used records – for example, I have a jazz and rock&roll record which was released in USA before World War Two.