Senior Sanctions​/Financial Crime legal

Senior Sanctions/Financial Crime Lawyer – London (EMEA focus)

An international bank is hiring a Senior Sanctions/Financial Crime Lawyer to join a high-performing legal team based in London, supporting the EMEA region. You will advise on complex sanctions regimes and financial crime matters, working with senior stakeholders across legal, compliance, business departments, and management.

• Provide expert advice on UK, EU, and other international sanctions regimes in relation to corporate strategy and risk appetite frameworks, ensuring compliance across all relevant jurisdictions.
• Collaborate with senior stakeholders across Legal, Compliance, business departments, committees, and management to address complex sanctions and financial crime issues.
• Act as the main representative for sanctions and financial crime matters within the legal group, leading related cross-departmental projects and initiatives.
• Work with external counsel when required to ensure efficient delivery of high-quality legal advice on sanctions-related topics.
• Support the analysis of payments and operations infrastructure within financial services firms to assess the impact of various sanctions regimes.
• Contribute to the development of policies and procedures that enhance compliance with financial crime regulations throughout the organisation.
• Engage proactively with colleagues across multiple locations in the EMEA region including Frankfurt, Paris, Dubai, and Dublin.
• Participate in strategic planning activities within the wider legal group to align legal advice with organisational objectives.
• Ensure effective communication of regulatory changes affecting sanctions or financial crime laws to relevant internal teams.
• Promote best practices in risk management by sharing knowledge on emerging trends in global capital markets regulation.

• Qualified lawyer with a minimum of six years post-qualification experience specialising in sanctions law and financial crime within banking or finance sectors.
• Proven track record of collaborating with senior stakeholders across Legal, Compliance, business departments, committees, and management teams.
• Comprehensive understanding of UK and EU sanctions law; familiarity with US sanctions regimes is advantageous.
• Experience in reputable financial services firms or top-tier law firms handling complex regulatory matters.
• Excellent grasp of banking products, finance instruments, capital markets solutions, and their regulatory implications.
• Ability to analyse payments infrastructure within financial services organisations for potential impacts from evolving sanctions regimes.
• Strong interpersonal skills enabling effective collaboration across geographically dispersed teams in London and other EMEA locations.
• Ability to communicate complex regulatory changes clearly to non-legal audiences within the organisation.
• Commitment to promoting best practices in compliance policy development related to financial crime prevention.
• Enthusiasm for participating in strategic planning activities that support organisational objectives.

Robert Walters Operations Limited is an employment business and employment agency and welcomes applications from all candidates.

• Contract Type:
  Permanent
• Specialism:
  Legal
• Focus:
  Banking & Finance
• Workplace Type:
  Hybrid
• Experience Level: Mid Management
• Location:
  
  City of London

Job Reference: H6

DUXS-2AF409 E6

Date posted: 12 January 2026

Consultant:
Ryan Bernarte