June’s AML Professional of the Month  was awarded to Svetlana Schwartzman, CAMS. Schwartzman was recognized for her contributions to the anti-financial crime community worldwide. Schwartzman is the chief compliance officer at Paxful, one of the leading peer-to-peer bitcoin marketplaces. Prior to joining Paxful, she spent 7 years at Grant Thornton LLP in the regulatory risk group specializing in Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) and Office of Foreign Assets (OFAC) regulations. Schwartzman had assessed and developed the know your customer (KYC) onboarding program along with the BSA/AML programs for various cryptocurrency exchanges, financial institutions and foreign banking organizations. She has more than 14 years of experience specializing in compliance and anti-money laundering (AML). Schwartzman spent her early years at Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank in various compliance roles. In addition, she led annual BSA/AML and OFAC independent program reviews along with other non-AML audits. She is a subject-matter expert in regulations and compliance for cryptocurrency companies. Schwartzman is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) and obtained the ACAMS Virtual Currency Certification.

In addition, she received a Certificate of Merit from COJO, a New York State Citation from New York Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, and was a recipient of the Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from New York Congressman, Dan Donovan.

Schwartzman is fluent in Russian and a graduate of Pace University in New York, New York.

Aside from devoting time to her husband and two young kids, she is active in various non-profits and is the president of the Congregation Toras Emes in Staten Island, New York.

Do you have a mentor who has actively influenced your anti-money laundering (AML) career path in a positive way? Does someone in your network exemplify excellence in AML? Recognize their commitment: Nominate them for ACAMS AML Professional of the Month.