From now on, the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism requires the use of new technologies. Maxime Heckel, an active player in the fight against money laundering in Luxembourg, lifts a corner of the veil on this new strategy.

Beyond the know-how of specialists, the secret weapon in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism is indeed artificial intelligence. Luxembourg being a major player in the hosting of investment funds (more than 5,000 billion euros!), “this makes the place interesting for money laundering”, recognizes Maxime Heckel. But a European directive, transposed into national law, obliges institutions to carry out a series of operational checks aimed at preventing criminals from using the financial system for money laundering or the financing of terrorism. Including in sectors, unexpected for novices, such as luxury industries or real estate.

For Maxime Heckel, the use of artificial intelligence has become essential for establishments seeking to reduce their costs. In fact, it is always a matter of knowing your customers well and the purpose of their transactions. And this mainly applies to the identification and filtering of new profiles that arise. For new players, AI is all the more essential as transactions are now predominantly digital. Customers who come to place their orders in branches are the exception, and online contacts the majority.