K2 Integrity announced today that it has appointed Justina Rousseau as a Senior Managing Director in its Financial Crimes Risk Management Advisory practice, with a focus on supporting the investment management industry.
Ms. Rousseau brings more than two decades of experience building programs designed to detect and prevent financial crime risk. At K2 Integrity, her focus will be on building and executing service offerings to help investment advisors, including in achieving compliance with the new requirements issued in 2024 by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
FinCEN’s new rules are a landmark compliance requirement for the investment advisory industry. Put in place to combat illicit finance and strengthen U.S. national security, the new requirements apply anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements to certain investment advisers that are registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as well as those that report to the SEC as exempt reporting advisers.
Although the rules will bring investment advisors in line with other financial services providers, implementing them will require time, diligence, and significant investments for firms that previously did have such compliance programs in place.
“Assessing, understanding, and implementing new anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations is complicated and time-intensive regardless of the size of the institution. With the new FinCEN regulation, investment advisors will be required to implement the same requirements as banks, which for some will be a fundamental new way of assessing and managing risk,” said Sarah Runge, Executive Managing Director of K2 Integrity.
“Justina is exactly the right expert to partner with our clients implementing new compliance programs, both those issued by FinCEN as well as those required by other regulatory bodies. We welcome her to K2 Integrity knowing our clients have just gained an invaluable resource.”
Ms. Rousseau joins K2 Integrity from Promontory Financial Group, where she held senior leadership positions as Deputy Head of Americas and Head of the Americas Financial Crimes Risk Management Advisory Practice Group. In those roles, she worked with large financial services institutions focusing on regulatory compliance, financial crime prevention, and risk management, giving her a deep understanding of the challenges facing internal regulatory compliance teams and the support they require from outside advisors.
Prior to consulting, she served in various roles developing and refining financial crimes programs in all three lines of defense. At Wells Fargo & Company, she served in several senior audit and first line risk financial crime risk management roles, and rose to serve as Executive Vice President and Head of First Line Financial Crimes Risk Management for Commercial/Middle Market Banking. Ms. Rousseau began her career as a Compliance Manager and an AML investigations unit leader for U.S. Bancorp.
“Financial institutions of all sizes recognize that preventing financial crime isn’t just a legal requirement; it’s imperative to protect their brand, their customers, and their communities. Banks, investment advisors, and asset managers recognize that new rules and regulations require that they partner with outside experts who have a track record of building, managing, and refining complex compliance programs,” remarked Ms. Rousseau.
“I’m incredibly excited to join the Financial Crimes Risk Management Advisory team at K2 Integrity, which has established itself as the go-to trusted resource for businesses managing new and evolving regulations. I look forward to working with current and future clients and serving as their first, second, and third line of defense from regulatory, reputational, and business risks.”
Ms. Rousseau, a native of Minnesota, graduated summa cum laude from the College of Saint Scholastica. She is a Certified BSA/AML/OFAC Compliance professional and a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS).
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