News

Saudi-Based Mozn Uses AI To Detect Money Laundering & Fraud

The company combats a wide range of financial crimes using pattern recognition and advanced algorithms.

Published

2 years ago

May 12, 2023

Nour Nasir

Mozn

Saudi Arabia’s Mozn, an AI platform founded by Dr. Mohammed Alhussein, uses advanced artificial intelligence algorithms to detect and prevent financial crimes and increase compliance.

The company’s advanced platform is known as FOCAL. It can sift through masses of financial data using pattern recognition and other advanced techniques to spot fraud and money laundering in real time.

Dr. Alhussein developed the FOCAL platform by studying anti-money-laundering and anti-terrorism legislation and compliance and quickly realized that traditional (often manual) checks and safeguards were too slow to act.

Mozn’s AI technology uses name-matching algorithms uniquely optimized for the Arabic language and reconciles its findings against 1,300 international and regional sanctions. Meanwhile, the system’s anti-fraud functionality detects suspicious patterns by confirming payee identities against the records of destination accounts — a process that is said to reduce investigation times by up to 95%.

Also Read: A Guide To Digital Payment Methods In The Middle East

Although the platform was launched in Saudi Arabia, CEO Dr. Mohammed Alhussein recently announced plans to expand into the UAE, noting that the company’s long-term goal would be to develop operations further across the GCC. “The UAE has been making significant strides in enhancing its AML compliance and combating financial fraud, and Mozn entering UAE market will help accelerate these efforts,” Alhussein stated in a press release. “We are excited to begin this next chapter in Mozn’s growth journey as we enter the broader GCC market through our UAE office”.

Related Topics:Artificial Intelligence FinTech Saudi Arabia

Up Next

Dubai’s Self-Driving, Electric Abra Blends Tech With Tradition

Don't Miss

Emirates To Phase Out Paper Boarding Passes In Dubai Hub

Click to comment

News

Will Upcoming Changes Turn Instagram Into A TikTok Clone?

Updates are rolling out for the grid layout and Reels length, while new editing tools clearly imitate those of the rival Chinese platform.

Published

7 hours ago

January 24, 2025

Nour Nasir

Instagram

Instagram recently faced backlash for swapping its iconic square grid for rectangles, disrupting the aesthetic of thousands of carefully curated profiles. However, the Meta-owned platform isn’t stopping there, after announcing more incoming TikTok-like changes designed to give users greater control over their profiles.

“We launched a new tall grid on profiles this week and I got a lot of feedback, both positive and quite negative,” Instagram head Adam Mosseri shared in an Instagram caption on Monday. “The goal is a simpler, cleaner place that maintains, and even increases, creator control”.

Here are some of the details about further changes we can expect:

Customizable Grids: Users will soon be able to tweak how their posts appear on the grid, including adjusting image crops and reordering posts entirely.
Direct-To-Grid Posts: A new option will allow users to post directly to their profile grid without automatically adding it to their main feed.
Highlights Relocation: Instagram’s Highlights feature will move from above the grid into a dedicated tab, while also becoming part of the profile grid itself.
Longer Reels: Reels are getting a significant upgrade, with the maximum video length jumping from 90 seconds to 3 minutes.

The updates are part of Instagram’s ongoing effort to compete with TikTok, which narrowly avoided a US ban following a 75-day delay granted by President Donald Trump. With the Chinese video platform’s future remaining uncertain, Instagram seems eager to capture disillusioned users by offering features that feel increasingly similar to those of its rival.

Also Read: How To Find & Cancel Pending Instagram Requests

In fact, Instagram’s recent changes go beyond just the app’s layout: On Sunday, parent company Meta launched the standalone Edits app, a clear imitation of TikTok’s popular video-editing tool, CapCut. Additionally, Meta has been enticing creators with cash bonuses to encourage them to post their videos on Instagram and Facebook.

It’s clear Instagram is shifting its strategy to appeal to the short-form video crowd. Whether these changes will win over users or continue to spark discontent remains to be seen.