Katarina Cook works as head of compliance and money laundering reporting officer for Europe Arab Bank in London. With a degree in Russian and political science, the move into the financial industry may not have seemed like the obvious choice for Cook. However, since the day Cook joined ABN AMRO (London) as a know your customer analyst in 2005, her interest in financial crime prevention resulted in a diverse career including many post-graduate diplomas and certifications covering compliance and anti-money laundering.

Cook has worked with all aspects of financial crime prevention, from policy writing to investigations and from management information development to training. Although London is where she spent most of her working life, she also worked for The Royal Bank of Scotland in the Netherlands for three years as head of conduct and regulatory affairs covering Netherlands and the Nordic region.

Cook is CAMS certified and is currently joint vice-chair for the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists United Kingdom Chapter.