AI in FCC Conclave Johannesburg 2026 – Keynote: AI, FATF Recommendation 15 and the Case for Human Vigilance

Christopher Malan of the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) outlines the regulatory perspective on AI and new technologies in financial crime compliance, and why human oversight must remain central.

Artificial intelligence is strengthening financial crime defences and, at the same time, enabling more sophisticated criminal activity. In his keynote at Solytics Partners' AI in FCC Conclave – Johannesburg 2026, Christopher Malan, Executive Manager: Compliance and Prevention at the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), South Africa, examined how institutions should approach new technologies in light of the international standards.

• Two Sides of New Technology – AI can help institutions analyse large data sets and reach conclusions faster, provided a human being verifies the output. The same capabilities enable deepfakes, fraud and more sophisticated laundering, terror financing and proliferation financing.

• Recommendation 15 and Its Interpretive Note – The speaker encouraged institutions to study both, noting that the interpretive notes indicate how the standards are expected to work in practice. A central principle is that new technologies should be assessed and tested before they are implemented.

• AI, Deepfakes and Detection – Reference was made to the FATF's horizontal scan on artificial intelligence and deepfakes, which highlights the pressure on customer due diligence, identity verification and transaction monitoring, and the need to use AI responsibly.

• Virtual Assets and the Travel Rule – Transparency about the parties to a transaction, the risk each transaction introduces, and the challenges posed by offshore providers.

• Sanctions Screening – The potential of technology to support screening and the expectation to act on United Nations designations without delay.

• Mutual Evaluation and Emerging Risks – The emphasis on effectiveness, on understanding the risks arising from new technologies, and on developing areas such as fraud, DeFi and smart contracts.

• AI is an enabler, not a replacement. Its outputs must be questioned and verified by people.

• Assess and test before deployment. Institutions should understand both the benefits and the ways a technology can be used against them.

• Vigilance is essential. As technology accelerates, institutions must stay alert to evolving threats and strengthen their countermeasures.

At Solytics Partners, we help financial institutions strengthen financial crime compliance with AI that is governed, explainable and defensible.

• FCC Ecosystem – Holistic financial crime risk management: https://www.solytics-partners.com/products/fcc-ecosystem

• Agentic FCC/AML – AI-powered financial crime operations: https://www.solytics-partners.com/agentic-fcc

• SAMS – Award-winning AML screening platform: https://www.solytics-partners.com/products/sams

• EMoT – Integrated transaction and fraud monitoring: https://www.solytics-partners.com/products/emot

For more information on how Solytics Partners can support your FCC programme, contact us today: https://www.solytics-partners.com/contact