Cyber-enabled financial crime is accelerating worldwide, and the UAE is taking decisive action to strengthen its national defences, thoroughly researching the scope of a problem and potential solutions in a landmark analytical paper released in cooperation with Themis.
The General Secretariat of the National Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation Financing Committee (NAMLCFTPFC), in collaboration with Themis, has published Anatomy of a Digital Threat: Understanding and Addressing Cyber-Enabled Financial Crime in the UAE — one of the country’s most comprehensive examinations to date of emerging digital financial-crime risks.
Launched during Abu Dhabi Finance Week on 10 December 2025, the paper highlights how rapid technological transformation is reshaping criminal behaviour. From artificial intelligence and virtual assets to e-commerce platforms and automated payment systems, digital innovation is expanding economic opportunity while simultaneously opening new pathways for illicit activity. Globally, more than $2 trillion is laundered every year and over $1 trillion is lost to fraud, with criminal groups increasingly using AI-driven tools, deepfakes, crypto mixers and large-scale social engineering to evade detection.
Against this backdrop, the UAE’s fast-growing fintech and virtual-asset sectors, projected to reach $3.5 billion and $34 billion in crypto inflows respectively, are strengthening the national digital economy but also heightening exposure to money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing threats. The paper warns that AI is becoming a force-multiplier for criminal operations, enabling advanced automation, faster laundering cycles and highly convincing fraudulent schemes.
Dr. Ebrahim Al Alkeem, Director of the National Risks and Policies Department at the General Secretariat, underscored the importance of unified national coordination. He emphasised that integrating current research into the UAE’s wider National Risk Assessment framework is vital for staying ahead of rapidly evolving digital threats. The country’s whole-of-government model, he noted, ensures emerging risks are managed proactively through data-driven, forward-looking measures.
The discussion at Abu Dhabi Finance Week, featuring experts from NAMLCFTPFC, Themis and the investigative journalism community, reinforced the urgency of shared intelligence and cross-sectoral cooperation. As Themis CEO Dickon Johnstone highlighted, combating cyber-enabled crime now requires technology-driven, intelligence-led solutions capable of identifying hidden risks in an increasingly complex digital landscape.
The new paper forms part of the UAE’s broader reforms, including Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025, enhanced oversight of virtual-asset service providers, strengthened cyber-intelligence capabilities and expanded international law-enforcement partnerships. Together, these measures aim to safeguard the UAE’s financial system and ensure that innovation continues to advance securely and responsibly.
