Can artificial intelligence outwit criminals? That’s the challenge Themis is tackling with its new AI Investigator, unveiled at the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) auditorium on Wednesday. The platform aims to accomplish what human investigators can’t—analyze millions of data points in seconds to reveal hidden financial crime links.
Themis, a UK-based leader in anti-financial crime solutions, claims its system automates due diligence, reducing investigation times from weeks to mere minutes. Powered by Themis’ proprietary data and supported by an Innovate UK grant, the tool examines ownership structures, negative media, and regulatory filings, employing large-scale behavioral analysis and pattern recognition.
Dickon Johnstone, CEO of Themis, explained to Khaleej Times that financial crime often conceals itself within vast data and complex structures. “Criminals assume no investigator can sift through millions of data entries. However, our AI Investigator does so effortlessly, uncovering hidden layers,” he stated.
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He commended the UAE’s AI-centric approach, deeming Abu Dhabi the ideal venue for the global launch. “The UAE is leading in AI with initiatives like the AI University and a national strategy that sets a global benchmark. This is the progressive environment where innovations like ours can flourish,” he remarked.
The platform is built to be cloud-agnostic and scalable, facilitating adoption across sectors such as finance, real estate, professional services, and government. Johnstone expressed the aim to make enhanced due diligence widely accessible. “In a few years, we’ll wonder how compliance was ever managed without AI. This technology not only speeds up processes but makes them intuitive, giving us an edge in combating financial crime,” he noted.
Abu Dhabi has committed Dh13 billion to AI investment from 2025 to 2027 as part of its Falcon Economy vision, with ADGM and Hub71 spearheading innovation. Johnstone commented that this ecosystem naturally positions the capital as a launch hub.
