SAS Partners with Dubai Islamic Bank to Strengthen Financial Crime Risk Management

Business

SAS Partners with Dubai Islamic Bank to Strengthen Financial Crime Risk Management

SAS, a global leader in data and AI, has partnered with Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), the world’s first Islamic bank and the largest in the UAE, to upgrade its Anti-Money Laundering (AML) platform and enhance financial crime compliance. The upgraded system will be deployed through SAS-hosted cloud services, powered by Microsoft Azure, marking a major step forward in DIB’s ongoing digital transformation journey.

The announcement, made during GITEX Global 2025, highlights DIB’s commitment to meeting evolving regulatory standards and adopting advanced technologies to ensure full compliance with international financial regulations.

Under the new partnership, DIB will advance to SAS Viya 4, an AI-powered, cloud-native analytics platform hosted on Microsoft Azure. The upgrade will help modernize compliance operations and improve risk detection capabilities.

Abdul Waheed Rathore, Group Chief Compliance Officer at DIB, emphasized the strategic importance of the move:

“Safeguarding the integrity of our operations and maintaining customer trust are foundational to everything we do. In today’s complex regulatory environment, our partnership with SAS equips us with greater agility, precision, and insight to proactively combat financial crime while reinforcing our enterprise-wide commitment to governance and risk resilience.”

The implementation of SAS Financial Crime Analytics, which leverages AI and machine learning, will enable DIB to strengthen its ability to detect, assess, and mitigate financial crime risks with greater speed and accuracy.

Michel Ghorayeb, Managing Director of SAS UAE, stated:

“SAS is proud to support DIB in advancing its financial crime strategy and digital compliance ambitions. Our AI-driven analytics and managed cloud services are designed to enhance resilience against emerging financial crime threats while ensuring operational efficiency and regulatory compliance.”

Imane El Majdoubi, Enterprise Commercial Director at Microsoft UAE, added:

“At Microsoft UAE, we are proud to support DIB’s digital transformation journey by providing secure and scalable AI-powered Azure cloud capabilities. This collaboration with SAS and DIB enables advanced analytics and compliance solutions that proactively mitigate financial crime risks.”

The initiative forms part of DIB’s ongoing investment in future-ready compliance infrastructure, reinforcing its long-term commitment to innovation, transparency, and operational excellence. The collaboration also aligns with the UAE’s national vision to position itself as a global hub for financial innovation and strong governance.