AI Technology Poses Threat to Financial Security, NRB Steps Up Efforts to Curb Money Laundering
कात्तिक २, २०८२ १३:४४
Kathmandu: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has identified the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies as a growing threat to the country’s financial security. The Financial Intelligence Unit under the central bank has updated its guidelines on suspicious transaction and activity reporting to address these new risks.
The updated guideline introduces a separate category of indicators related to the use of AI and new technologies. It alerts financial institutions to monitor how criminals are exploiting technology for money laundering, terrorist financing, and financial fraud.
The guidelines specifically highlight digital identity theft as a major misuse of AI. According to NRB, the risk of criminals using deepfake content or digital manipulation in Know Your Customer (KYC) documents has increased. Offenders may also use various tools, such as VPNs or spoofed IMEI numbers, to hide their identity while opening accounts or conducting transactions.
The guideline also includes automated and bot-based transactions as suspicious activities. Repetitive, high-frequency, or unnatural transactions across multiple accounts are considered potential signs of money laundering or automated coordination.
Similarly, the use of AI-powered apps, Telegram bots, or APIs for financial services is viewed as suspicious, especially when linked to gambling, betting, or crypto arbitrage.
AI-generated scams, including fake loan offers or synthetic voice fraud, are also listed as high-risk activities. The sudden involvement of individuals with no technical or investment background in complex AI-enabled platforms such as algorithmic trading or token minting, or those handling large volumes of micropayments, may indicate AI-based pyramid schemes or gaming.
Transactions conducted through unregistered crowdfunding or peer-to-peer lending platforms also fall under the suspicious category. The guideline emphasizes that attention should be given not only to AI but to all digital tools that enable financial crimes.
Among these, the central bank highlights the growing challenge of detecting red flags in high-volume digital financial transactions by payment service providers and payment system operators. For example, the creation of multiple wallet accounts under different names using the same mobile number, or wallets linked to online gambling or betting sites like Onexbet, Metabet, and Fifa, are considered indicators of money laundering.
Virtual assets are also identified as a major risk factor. Transactions containing keywords like “crypto”, funds received from peer-to-peer exchanges, or repeated account access from unknown IP addresses are listed as warning signs.
In cyber-related fraud, abnormal activity in accounts linked to online gambling or illegal virtual asset transactions, especially when the user’s IP address or GPS location is traced to another region, is also considered suspicious.
The guideline further notes a technological gap among financial institutions. While some banks have advanced systems for detecting suspicious activity, others still lack the technology to identify early warning signs or ‘red flags.’
The central bank has stressed the need for greater investment in advanced analytics, AI, and machine learning to mitigate these threats. Such technologies, according to NRB, will enable financial institutions to analyze large datasets, identify unusual transaction patterns, and detect complex layering techniques more effectively — strengthening Nepal’s defenses against financial crime.
पछिल्लो अध्यावधिक: कात्तिक २, २०८२ १३:४४
