FractionalFRACTIONAL|DUBAI
MLRO and Compliance Officer

Applying for a VARA licence?

A senior Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) and Compliance Officer, named on your application, who build the AML/CFT framework and stay on after approval. VARA agrees the structure case by case, so we start from what your licence needs.

  • Officers VARA can approve
  • The AML/CFT framework
  • Continuity after approval
Brief us on your licence

No search fee. Reply within 24 hours, Monday to Friday.

A senior compliance executive in a modern Dubai office
400+curated executives in the UAE collective

Our compliance leaders have held the line at

Emirates NBDMashreqHSBCStandard CharteredDIFCADGMPwCKPMG
The problem

Sound familiar?

  • Your application needs named officers, and you have none.
  • Your policies came from a template.
  • You are unsure who the regulator will accept.
  • You need the same officers to stay on after approval.

A licence goes to a firm with credible people in the named roles. We match senior officers to the tests your regulator applies, and they build the framework themselves.

What changes

The appointments your licence needs

Today

No named officer for the application

With an MLRO and Compliance Officer

Officers VARA can approve

Matched to the tests VARA applies: at least five years of compliance experience for the Compliance Officer, two years of AML/CFT for the MLRO, and UAE residence.

Today

Policies copied from a template

With an MLRO and Compliance Officer

The AML/CFT framework

Policies, controls and reporting built for your licence.

Today

A new officer after approval

With an MLRO and Compliance Officer

Continuity after approval

The officers who built the framework stay on to run monitoring, reporting and oversight once the licence is granted.

Brief us on your licence

No search fee. Reply within 24 hours, Monday to Friday.

How we solve it

Senior officers who build what VARA tests, and stay to run it

A licence application needs named officers and a framework that works in practice. We match a senior MLRO and Compliance Officer to your application, and VARA agrees the structure case by case.

  1. Before filing

    Agree the structure

    The appointments your licence needs, agreed with VARA early as part of a well-evidenced proposal.

  2. During the application

    Build the AML/CFT framework

    Policies, controls and reporting built for your licence and ready for VARA's review.

  3. After approval

    Stay to run it

    The same officers run monitoring, reporting and oversight once the licence is granted.

Senior and named

Experienced officers from our curated collective of 400+, appointed in their own name.

Matched to your regulator

Chosen against the tests your regulator applies to the role. The regulator holds final acceptance.

A structure the regulator agrees

How the role is held is agreed with your regulator, so we start from what your licence needs.

The comparison

Fractional, full-time or outsourced

All three can work. What matters to the regulator is that the person named on the appointment has the seniority, independence and time to hold it.

RecommendedFractional
Full-time
Outsourced
Who does the work
Fractional · RecommendedThe named senior individual you appointed
Full-timeYour own employee
OutsourcedA provider’s team, under a named lead
Time commitment
Fractional · RecommendedAgreed days each month, flexing with need
Full-timeFull time, whatever the workload
OutsourcedSet by the service contract
Cost basis
Fractional · RecommendedA share of a senior salary, for the time you use
Full-timeFull salary, benefits, visa and hiring costs
OutsourcedA service fee, often plus ad hoc charges
Getting started
Fractional · RecommendedNo full recruitment cycle
Full-timeA full search and notice period
OutsourcedQuick to contract
Continuity
Fractional · RecommendedStays as long as you need; handover planned
Full-timeDepends on retention
OutsourcedStaff may rotate across clients
Brief us on your licence

No search fee. Reply within 24 hours, Monday to Friday.

How it works

From the brief to the match

  1. STEP 1

    Tell us the problem

    A short brief, read personally.

  2. STEP 2

    Meet your shortlist

    Leaders from our collective of 400+ who have solved it before.

  3. STEP 3

    Named and approved

    Your regulator approves the appointment where the role needs it.

Brief us on your licence
Your brief

Tell us your regulator and stage

A few questions on the business and the problem. Every brief is read personally, and we reply within 24 hours, Monday to Friday.

  1. We read your brief and reply within 24 hours, Monday to Friday.
  2. We come back with senior officers from the collective who meet your regulator’s tests.
  3. No search fee. An engagement is priced on time and scope.
Step 1 of 3About 3 minutes

Where to reach you

So we can come back to you with names, not a form reply.

We reply to this address within 24 hours, Monday to Friday. Every brief is read personally. No newsletter, no list.

If you stop before sending, we may keep what you have entered so far so the team can pick your enquiry up with you.

We ask for a number because the fastest briefs are settled in one short call. We will not add you to a list or pass it on.

No search fee.

What an engagement costs, plainly.

  • Priced on time and scope.
  • Contracted business to business.
Questions

Before you brief us

VARA expects a Compliance Officer, an MLRO and a head of the risk function, alongside two senior Responsible Individuals, each fit and proper. It agrees the structure case by case: depending on the business plan, permissions and activities, it may accept a role being outsourced, or the Compliance Officer also heading the risk function. Agree the structure with VARA early, as part of a well-evidenced proposal.

It depends on the regulator. In DIFC, yes: the Compliance Officer must be a director, partner or senior manager, and the DFSA’s definition of employee includes people engaged under a contract for services. In ADGM, the FSRA approves each appointment and looks at whether the person has the time and independence for it. Under VARA, it is case by case: the rulebook’s default is a full-time employee, but VARA may accept a fractional or outsourced Compliance Officer where the business plan supports it, so agree the structure with VARA early. Onshore, the CMA allows the head of compliance to be outsourced with its consent.

Yes. The DFSA in DIFC and the FSRA in ADGM both allow the MLRO role to be outsourced to a suitable individual with real seniority and the capacity to do the job. The MLRO must be resident in the UAE unless the regulator grants a waiver, and the regulator still approves the appointment.

It can be quick, but it depends on the regulator’s approval process, so we do not quote a fixed timeline. Where a role needs approval, the relevant regulator holds final acceptance, so the timing sits with it. What we control is the brief: telling us your regulator, the role and why it is needed lets us screen and shortlist candidates who already meet its tests, such as UAE residence and minimum experience.

No. An engagement is priced on time and scope, contracted business to business, and there is no search fee on top.

MLRO and Compliance Officer

The appointments your licence needs.

Tell us the problem. We come back with leaders who have solved it before.

Brief us on your licence