CARY, NC--(Marketwired - December 15, 2014) - SAS finished the quickest implementation of an anti-money laundering (AML) project in Saudi Arabia to-date with Al Rajhi Bank, completing the work in only four months. The project helps the financial institution combat money laundering by delivering high-performance analytics and multiple-detection methods to instantly monitor risks in very large data volumes.

"The solution's integrated, open-ended architecture lets Al Rajhi Bank gather information across data sources," said Marcel Yaminne, Country Manager, SAS Saudi Arabia. "The collected information is instantly relayed into real intelligence, which can detect suspicious activity and accurately alert investigators and authorities."

SAS® Anti-Money Laundering gathers, manages and refines mountains of information from all areas of a financial institution. It then turns the data into knowledge that will help a business automatically identify and classify suspicious behavior. SAS helps banks meet stringent government regulations, protect shareholder confidence and maintain a strong reputation.

"This project comes at a key time for Al Rajhi Bank, as we work towards our vision to provide a world-class integrated banking system that ensures excellence in both banking regulations and AML, according to the SAMA regulatory requirements in the Kingdom," said Ibrahim Rashid, CIO of Al Rajhi Bank.

"SAS is pleased to help Al Rajhi Bank further enhance the quality of the banking system in the Kingdom," said Shukri Dabaghi, Regional Director Middle East and Francophone Africa for SAS. "The implementation was managed by a highly skilled bilingual team based on site in the Riyadh head office. By providing our AML solutions, we hope to support Al Rajhi Bank in their aim to monitor transactions and detect any illicit activity."

Additionally, SAS awarded Al Rajhi Bank with a Customer Appreciation Award during a September 8th event organized by the bank to celebrate the successful collaboration and completion of the quickest implementation of an anti-money laundering project in Saudi Arabia.

SAS currently provides the only platform with a core framework used by AML, Fraud and Financial Crimes Management, FATCA and other similar services. SAS delivers high-performance analytics and multiple detection methods so organizations can monitor more risks in very large data volumes. SAS enables companies to comply with anti-money laundering and counterterrorist financing regulations while safeguarding the institution's reputation. The solution supports the unique regulatory requirements of foreign jurisdictions.