Israeli cybersecurity firm ThetaRay signs first Emirati contract

DUBAI, Feb 14 (Reuters) – Israeli technology company ThetaRay will license a financial crime detection tool that monitors correspondent banking transactions at Emirati bank Mashreq (MASB.DU), the companies said on Monday.

This is ThetaRay’s first direct licensing agreement with a bank in the United Arab Emirates, chief executive Mark Gazit said, declining to disclose annual fees.

The Israeli-developed tool uses artificial intelligence to identify financial cyber threats such as money laundering or fraud so users can take action against suspicious transactions.

“It’s almost like a scanner machine,” Gazit told Reuters.

The Dubai-headquartered Mashreq, which has in the past paid fines for violating US sanctions, said the solution allows banks to “effectively counter financial crime risks in the increasingly complex space. cross-border payments”.

The United Arab Emirates, a financial and trade hub of the Middle East, has in recent years tightened banking and financial regulations – and urged banks to step up their anti-money laundering efforts – to combat the perceived that this is a hot spot for illicit money.

ThetaRay’s Gazit said he hoped the Mashreq deal would pave the way for more contracts in the UAE and other Arab countries.

Israel and the United Arab Emirates established ties in 2020 under a US-brokered deal that extended to Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.

Gazit also said the company plans to remain private in the short term and may soon raise “from the upper side” tens of millions of dollars to help it grow and build capacity.

Written by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Shailesh Kuber, Kirsten Donovan

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