Rapid Alert Remediation And Financial Crime Investigations: Danos Consulting Case Study

Project Overview:

A leading trading firm offering retail investment products including CFD trading and ISA accounts, was facing a significant backlog of transaction monitoring and screening alerts. Amid heightened regulatory scrutiny around FCA compliance, AML obligations, and the Consumer Duty, the firm required rapid, expert intervention to manage the backlog and strengthen its financial crime controls.

Danos Consulting was engaged to deploy a team of seven experienced consultants, skilled in complex investigations, screening, and regulatory remediation. The team integrated seamlessly with the firm’s compliance function, taking full ownership of high-volume alert clearance and investigative responsibilities over a 12-week engagement.

Objectives & Responsibilities:

• Backlog Clearance: Reviewed and resolved 20,000–23,000 transaction monitoring and screening alerts.
• Suspicious Activity Detection: Identified and escalated potential cases of money laundering, fraud, and market abuse.
• Name Screening: Used LSEG Data & Analytics (formerly Refinitiv) for real-time screening against PEPs, sanctions, and adverse media.
• Transaction Analysis: Monitored trading behaviour across Invest (Stocks & ETFs), CFD trading, and ISA accounts, focusing on low- and medium-risk clients.
• SAR Preparation: Documented investigations and supported the drafting of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), including DAMLs.
• Control Framework Enhancement: Refined transaction monitoring rules to increase effectiveness and reduce false positives.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partnered with compliance, AML, and operations teams to support sustainable risk management in line with regulatory expectations.

Technology & Expertise:

Our consultants leveraged leading tools and deep domain knowledge to deliver robust outcomes:

• LSEG Data & Analytics – for real-time screening of PEPs, sanctions, and adverse media.
• Internal Monitoring Systems – to identify high-risk transactional behaviour.
• Behavioural Analytics – to detect suspicious trading patterns.
• SAR Drafting – including expertise in producing DAMLs.
• AML Rule Tuning – to optimise alert generation and investigative focus.

The team brought significant experience from Tier 1 banks and regulated FinTechs, with strong expertise in regulatory reporting, OSINT investigations, and high-pressure alert triage.

Client Testimonial:

“Danos Consulting helped us with putting in place a team of strong consultants at short notice. More importantly, they understood the requirements and nuances of the project, which led to a smooth hiring and onboarding process and ultimately ended up closing out the project quicker than originally anticipated. I have personally worked with Danos Consulting (Bradley Handelaar) across multiple organisations, and they continue to remain my first point of contact for remediation projects.” Group Head of AML, Trading 212.

Outcomes:

• Cleared 20,000–23,000 alerts in 12 weeks—well ahead of expectations.
• Escalated multiple suspicious cases, ensuring FCA and AML compliance.
• Improved the firm’s transaction monitoring framework via rule tuning.
• Demonstrated Danos Consulting’s scalability for urgent risk remediation.

Enabled the client to resume business-as-usual operations with reduced regulatory exposure and enhanced investigative capability.

To find out more please contact, Bradley Handelaar – Director, Head of Interim Compliance, Danos Consulting. E: bhandelaar@danosconsulting.com.