Business & Money | Sunday 8 February, 2015 2:14 pm |

SAS, the leader in business analytics software and services, announced its collaboration with Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) to help prevent money laundering among the bank’s customers. SAS will support the bank with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) solutions that meet the compliance requirements of the UAE and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which came into effect on July 1, 2014.

Commenting on the partnership, Mohamed Abdulla Al Nahdi, Deputy CEO, Dubai Islamic Bank, said: “As one of the leading banks in the country, we are committed to growing in a responsible manner while complying with local and international regulations. In line with this philosophy, our partnership with SAS will allow us to equip our operations team with the latest technology solutions to monitor transactions and proactively detect and address any illicit activity. Furthermore, by implementing these protocols, we will also be able to take a more holistic approach towards thwarting financial crimes, as we endeavour to ensure a higher level of security and mitigate the risks that we face in today’s complex banking environment.”

Shukri Dabaghi, Regional Director Middle East & Francophone Africa at SAS, said: “As regulations such as FATCA become more rigorous in the UAE, financial institutions need to ensure that they have strong internal controls for timely detection and filing of potential money-laundering activity. With our AML solution in place, DIB will be able to make better informed regulatory decisions and detect any suspicious transactions.”

SAS Anti-Money Laundering solutions help the bank comply with AML and counterterrorist financing (CTF) regulations by taking a risk-based approach to monitoring transactions for illicit activity. The solution uses high-performance analytics and multiple detection methods to monitor more risks in very large data volumes, in less time. It enables DIB to automatically monitor customers and counterparties for potential money laundering or terrorist financing behavior, document the decision process and – if applicable – file regulatory reports with the appropriate authorities.

Islamic banking and finance is today one of the world’s fastest-growing economic sectors that comprises more than 400 institutions tasked with managing assets in excess of US$ 1 trillion globally. Established 40 years ago, Dubai Islamic Bank was the first Sharia-compliant commercial bank and has grown to become one of the largest financial institutions in the UAE, with a customer base of over 1.25 million and a network of 90 branches.

SAS currently provides the only platform with core framework leveraged by AML, Fraud and Financial Crimes Management, FATCA, EGRC and other similar services. SAS delivers high-performance analytics and multiple detection methods so organizations can monitor more risks in very large data volumes. Additionally, organizations can standardize and manage strategic and operational risks and consolidate information into an enterprise-wide view of risk.