Elucidate, a Berlin-based financial crime risk management platform, has raised $8 million in a funding round led by AV8 Ventures.
Elevator Ventures, the corporate venture capital entity of Raiffeisen Bank International, APEX Ventures, Frontline Ventures, BiG Start Ventures and SixThirty Ventures also participated.
Since its founding in 2018, Elucidate has expanded data analytics coverage to over 20,000 organisations. The firm's Financial Crime Index uses banks' own data to predict the likelihood of a financial crime risk event, such as money laundering, terrorist financing, trafficking, tax evasion and others.
The company says that the funding comes as overall financial crime has skyrocketed during the Covid pandemic, a problem that has been exacerbated by the geopolitical instability in Eastern Europe and the introduction of sanctions targeting Russia.
Elucidate highlights the challenge faced by the UK's FCA, which employs approximately 4000 people and regulates over 50,000 institutions. The company says it will look to "engage with key public authorities" to push its risk-based approach.
Shane Riedel, CEO, Elucidate, says: "The Ukraine-Russia conflict and the complexity banks have faced implementing the most recent sanctions has, once again, revealed the sheer scale of financial crime risk banks can find themselves exposed to when they lack the proper tools.
"A global reset in how we manage financial crime is needed. Elucidate, with our vision to rid the Earth of financial crime, is leading this trend by demonstrating how technology can be leveraged to set a global benchmark for financial crime risk management."