Financial institutions spend millions annually to combat money laundering, while they are only slowly stopping fraud. According to entrepreneur JC Heyneke, they should use artificial intelligence to track money launderers.
Financial institutions spend millions annually to combat money laundering, while they are only slowly stopping fraud. According to entrepreneur JC Heyneke, they should use artificial intelligence to track money launderers.
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Two years ago, ING had to pay a fine of up to 775 million euros, because the bank allegedly failed to supervise money laundering. It was the largest fine ever for the bank, but according to JC Heyneke (real name: Jan-Chris), CEO of tech startup Slimmer AI, this is just the tip of the iceberg of money laundering in the financial world. 'Many thousands of people are working to combat money laundering and fraud, but the vast majority of these cases go undetected. It's a huge problem for banks and payment providers.'
Heyneke hopes to turn the tide with Slimmer AI, operating from Groningen and Amsterdam. As the name implies, his company uses artificial intelligence to fight financial crime. It's just one of his startup's divisions, but one that's currently in the spotlight. Last week, Slimmer AI received 4 million euros in growth money, intended to be used for this purpose. The capital came from several angels and strategic investors, including Bol.com founder and former CEO Daniel Ropers, Mollie and MessageBird founder Adriaan Mol and former Adyen manager Maikel Lobbezoo. Mollie and PayPro are already customers of the Slimmer AI service.
Heyneke grew up in South Africa and lived in the United States for many years. When he and his wife had their first child 12 years ago, they decided to move to the Netherlands. 'We wanted to raise our child here. The Netherlands seemed to us to be a wonderful country for both our business and personal lives. The quality of life is very high here.'
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