Bank of Valletta has been shortlisted for an international anti-financial crime award, with its AI-powered transaction monitoring system recognised as a key driver behind the nomination.

The ICA Compliance Awards celebrate the outstanding achievements, collaboration, and innovation of the compliance and financial crime prevention teams across the globe.

The system BOV uses was developed in partnership with Resistant AI, and uses machine learning to analyse transaction data in real time, allowing the bank to detect suspicious patterns and intervene before fraudulent payments are completed.

Originally introduced as part of the bank’s broader push to strengthen its anti-money laundering capabilities, the technology marked one of the first implementations of its kind by a major Maltese bank. It enables the continuous assessment of customer behaviour, flagging anomalies that may indicate money laundering, fraud or sanctions evasion, without requiring a complete overhaul of existing banking infrastructure.

Group Chief Anti Financial Crime Officer Ryan Caruana had noted that BOV was the first bank in Malta to use pre-transaction monitoring on live payments, allowing it to stop €1.6 million of fraudulent transactions from going through in just six months.

This capability has already proven critical. In a recent case involving an elderly scam victim, the system successfully blocked multiple suspicious transfers. However, the incident also underscored the limits of technological safeguards, as the customer later authorised further transactions after contacting the bank by phone.

The case, reviewed by the Office of the Arbiter for Financial Services, ultimately found that the losses resulted from gross negligence, despite the bank’s monitoring systems functioning effectively.

Commenting on the shortlisting, Kenneth Farrugia, BOV Chief Executive Officer said: “While our front-line teams remain fully focused on delivering core banking services, supported by dedicated specialist units, we attach equal importance to safeguarding the Bank’s reputation and protecting its brand. A robust and resolute approach to combating financial crime, alongside full compliance with an increasingly demanding regulatory environment at both local and international levels, remains central to our long-term sustainability.”

Ryan Caruana, BOV Group Chief Anti-Financial Crime Officer & MLRO, commented, “This achievement provides important external validation by the International Compliance Association of the Bank’s ongoing commitment to effective, robust financial crime controls.”

ICA’s President, Pekka Dare noted that the awards ceremony will take place 25th June in London.