Financial Crime and Compliance Advisor | Former Senior Regulator | AUSTRAC-Environment Practitioner
Indika Gunawardana brings over 15 years of financial crime and compliance experience across three distinct arenas that few advisors can claim: national regulatory authority, Compliance Officer (MLRO) experience, and independent consultancy. This combination gives TheAMLConsultant.com a perspective that is both rare and genuinely valuable — the ability to see your compliance program through the eyes of a regulator, an operator, and an independent expert simultaneously.
A Career Built at the Intersection of Regulation and Practice
Former AML/CTF Compliance Regulator
Indika spent over 12 years as an AML/CTF Compliance Regulator.
In that role, he:
- Led financial crime investigations and intelligence analysis, including complex cross-border cases, corporate structures, and emerging crypto-related typologies
- Personally analysed and supervised suspicious matter reports, identifying systemic risks, trends and typologies that shaped institutional responses
- Played a central role in national AML/CTF policy, regulatory framework development, and supervisory strategy
- Conducted national and sector-level ML/TF risk assessments that informed government and regulatory positions
- Engaged directly with international bodies including FATF, the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG), the World Bank, and the IMF on financial crime and regulatory initiatives
- Supported law enforcement and intelligence agencies on high-impact financial crime and national security cases
- Delivered training and advisory programs to financial institutions and compliance professionals across the public and private sectors
This is what it means to understand AML/CTF from the regulator’s side of the table — not as theory, but as lived professional practice at the highest levels.
Qualified APG Country Assessor
Indika holds the distinction of being a Qualified Country Assessor for the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) — a credential held by a handful of professionals worldwide. APG assessors conduct mutual evaluation reviews of national AML/CTF frameworks against FATF standards, the global benchmark for financial crime compliance.
This credential reflects not just technical expertise, but the ability to assess entire national frameworks against the most rigorous international standards in existence. It is a standard that shapes every independent review and advisory engagement TheAMLConsultant.com undertakes.
Active Practitioner — AML/CTF Compliance Manager & MLRO
Indika is not only an advisor — he is an active practitioner. As AML/CTF Compliance Manager and MLRO at an AUSTRAC-regulated Reporting Entity leading AML/CFT compliance.
This includes:
- Overseeing transaction monitoring, investigations, and regulatory reporting in a live AUSTRAC-regulated context
- Driving transaction monitoring optimisation — rule tuning, threshold calibration, and workflow improvement
- Conducting complex financial crime investigations involving cross-border transactions and digital payment typologies
- Integrating AI-driven approaches into compliance workflows to improve detection capability and operational efficiency
- Engaging directly with regulators and financial partners on financial crime risk positions
The result of this active practice: zero material AUSTRAC regulatory breaches in his current role. That is not an aspiration — it is the track record.