PRESSR: SAS partners with DIB to elevate financial crime risk management

Dubai, UAE — SAS, the market leader in Data and AI, has partnered with DIB, the world’s first Islamic bank and the largest in the UAE, to upgrade its Anti-Money Laundering (AML) platform and advance financial crime compliance capabilities, deployed on SAS hosted cloud services, supported by Microsoft. This strategic collaboration, announced at GITEX 2025, reflects DIB's commitment to staying ahead of evolving regulatory requirements and leveraging advanced technologies to ensure compliance with the global standards and meet industry-specific compliance requirements.

Recognizing the rapid advancements in regulatory frameworks and the increasing complexity of financial crime, DIB is advancing to SAS Viya 4 – a cloud-native, AI-powered analytics platform running on Microsoft Azure– building on its longstanding relationship with SAS. The upgrade will not only modernize compliance operations but also support the bank’s broader digital transformation agenda.

Abdul Waheed Rathore, Group Chief Compliance Officer at DIB said: “Safeguarding the integrity of our operations and maintaining customer trust are foundational to everything we do. In today’s increasingly complex regulatory environment, our partnership with SAS reflects a strategic move to elevate our compliance capabilities which equips us with greater agility, precision, and insight to proactively combat financial crime, while reinforcing our enterprise-wide commitment to strong governance and risk resilience.”

As part of this transformation, DIB will implement SAS’s Financial Crime Analytics — an advanced suite powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) — to strengthen its ability to detect and mitigate financial crimes. The platform will deliver faster, deeper insights, empowering the bank to proactively detect, assess, and mitigate financial crime risks with greater accuracy and efficiency

“SAS is proud to support DIB in advancing its financial crime strategy and digital compliance ambitions,” said Michel Ghorayeb, Managing Director, SAS UAE. “Our advanced analytics, AI, and cloud technologies are designed to empower leading organizations like DIB to remain resilient against emerging financial crime threats while ensuring operational efficiency and regulatory compliance. Deployed in cloud with SAS-hosted managed services, we are offering a combination of technology and expertise to deliver exceptional results and safeguard DIB’s customers.”

Imane El Majdoubi, Enterprise Commercial Director, Microsoft UAE stated: “At Microsoft UAE, we are proud to support DIB’s digital transformation journey by providing secure, scalable, and AI-powered Azure cloud capabilities. By partnering with SAS and DIB, we are enabling advanced analytics and compliance solutions that help DIB proactively detect and mitigate financial crime risks, while ensuring regulatory compliance and operational excellence.”

This upgrade is part of DIB’s continued investment in future-ready compliance infrastructure and innovation-led transformation. It reinforces the bank’s long-term commitment to operational excellence and regulatory resilience, while aligning with the UAE’s national vision to position itself as a global hub for financial innovation, transparency, and governance leadership.

About SAS

SAS is a global leader in data and AI. With SAS software and industry-specific solutions, organizations transform data into trusted decisions. SAS gives you THE POWER TO KNOW®.

 SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. ® indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies. Copyright © 2025 SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.

About DIB:

Established in 1975, DIB is the largest Islamic bank in the UAE by assets and a public joint stock company listed on the Dubai Financial Market. Spearheading the evolution of the global Islamic finance industry, DIB is also the world’s first full service Islamic bank and amongst the largest Islamic banks in the world.  With Group assets now exceeding USD95 billion and market capitalisation of more than USD 14bln, the group operates with a workforce of more than 10,000 employees and around 500 branches in its vast global network across the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Serving over 5 million customers across the Group, DIB offers an increasing range of innovative Shariah-compliant products and services to retail, corporate and institutional clients.

In addition to being the first and largest Islamic bank in the UAE, DIB has a significant international presence as a torchbearer in promoting Shariah-compliant financial services across a number of markets worldwide. The bank has established DIB Pakistan Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary which is the first Islamic bank in Pakistan to offer Priority & Platinum Banking, The launch of Panin Dubai Syariah Bank in Indonesia early marked DIB’s first foray in the Far East, with a stake of nearly 25% stake in the Indonesian bank. Additionally, Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC was given the licence by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to operate its subsidiary, DIB Kenya Ltd. DIB has been designated as D-SIB (Domestic Systemically Important Bank) in UAE. The acquisition of Noor Bank has solidified its position as a leading bank in the global Islamic finance industry. Recently, DIB has successfully acquired minority stake of 25% of T.O.M. Group which provides digital banking services in Türkiye.

The bank’s ultimate goal is to make Islamic finance the norm, rather than an alternative to conventional banking worldwide. DIB has won a range of accolades that are testament to these efforts across diversified areas, including retail, corporate and investment banking, as well as CSR and consultancy services. DIB has been named the “Best Islamic Bank” in various prestigious ceremonies marking the bank’s leadership position in the Islamic finance sector. As a progressive Islamic financial institution, DIB embraces the opportunities and challenges associated with integrating sustainability into its business by delivering sustainable products and services and by advancing the green and social composition. 2025 marked DIB Golden Jubilee, with a Bold New Vision for the Future to be prepared to meet the challenges ahead and continue building a legacy of success for the years to come.

For more information, please visit us at www.dib.ae

Disclaimer: The contents of this press release was provided from an external third party provider. This website is not responsible for, and does not control, such external content. This content is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis and has not been edited in any way. Neither this website nor our affiliates guarantee the accuracy of or endorse the views or opinions expressed in this press release.

The press release is provided for informational purposes only. The content does not provide tax, legal or investment advice or opinion regarding the suitability, value or profitability of any particular security, portfolio or investment strategy. Neither this website nor our affiliates shall be liable for any errors or inaccuracies in the content, or for any actions taken by you in reliance thereon. You expressly agree that your use of the information within this article is at your sole risk.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, this website, its parent company, its subsidiaries, its affiliates and the respective shareholders, directors, officers, employees, agents, advertisers, content providers and licensors will not be liable (jointly or severally) to you for any direct, indirect, consequential, special, incidental, punitive or exemplary damages, including without limitation, lost profits, lost savings and lost revenues, whether in negligence, tort, contract or any other theory of liability, even if the parties have been advised of the possibility or could have foreseen any such damages.