Tunis, Jan. 29 — Digital money laundering threatens national economies and poses major challenges for oversight and cross-border financial crime-fighting authorities, according to a study titled "Money Laundering through the Digital Space."
Prepared by academic Jabeur Ghenimi, the study explains that digital money laundering involves the use of advanced digital techniques and tools to conceal the origin of illicit funds by making them appear to come from legitimate sources.
This form of laundering exploits the ease with which anonymous international transfers can be carried out.
Money laundering is an economic crime aimed at legitimising illicit funds in order to possess, manage, preserve, exchange, invest, transfer, move, and manipulate their value.
Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn
Such funds originate from various activities, including narcotics cultivation, jewelry trafficking, terrorism, fraud, prostitution, antiquities trafficking, corruption, embezzlement of public funds, and crimes threatening state security, both domestically and abroad.
The researcher concluded that new technologies contribute significantly to the spread of money laundering-related crimes. Technological innovations have created new forms of financial crime via emails, social media and digital platforms, enabling criminals to defraud victims regardless of geographical location.
Money laundering has devastating economic, social, and political consequences. It weakens the economy by fueling inflation, distorts investment through corruption, and erodes the social fabric by encouraging crime and corruption.
It also threatens political stability by financing terrorism and undermining the rule of law, damaging a country's reputation, reducing investment, and widening social inequality.
The study revealed that digital money laundering occurs through various channels, notably cryptocurrencies, which are difficult to trace and convert. Cryptocurrencies are considered an ideal tool for laundering funds via decentralized platforms.
Social media is also exploited, using influencers' popularity to create virtual stores that channel illegal funds into the formal economy through fictitious sales and purchases.
Other methods include e-commerce and digital banking through invoice manipulation, instant transfer platforms that allow funds to be moved without direct oversight and online gaming, where virtual currencies and in-game assets are used to launder money.
The tools and techniques used include cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.), encrypted communication applications (WhatsApp, Telegram), instant money transfer platforms (Venmo, Zelle), shell companies, and cross-border transfers.
The study stressed that combating this phenomenon faces several challenges, including traceability due to the decentralised and confidential nature of many platforms, the speed and ease of cross-border fund transfers, and the constant evolution of criminal methods alongside technology, requiring advanced legislative and regulatory responses.
According to the study, effective countermeasures include developing legislation governing the digital economy, establishing modern and integrated financial monitoring systems, strengthening international cooperation against organised crime and using artificial intelligence and data analysis to detect suspicious activities.
It emphasised that any law regulating crypto-assets must be precise and proactive, keeping pace with technological innovation, strengthening legal systems, penalising money laundering and related crimes and setting standards and guidelines for anti-crypto-money-laundering legislation.
In a statement to TAP, judge and researcher Jabeur Ghenimi noted that Tunisia has made significant efforts to strengthen its legal and institutional framework to combat money laundering, particularly following challenges linked to its international classification.
Tunisia's current system is based on harmonising domestic legislation with international standards, notably the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Key laws include Organic Law No. 26 of 2015 (the counterterrorism and anti-money laundering framework law), Organic Law No. 9 of 2019, and Government Decree No. 419 of 2019 on implementing UN decisions related to preventing terrorist financing.
This also includes Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) circulars, the most recent being Circular No. 2 of 2026, which sets out due diligence and anti-money laundering obligations for exchange offices.
Tunisia also has oversight institutions such as the Tunisian Financial Analysis Commission (CTAF) and sectoral supervisory authorities, including the BCT, the Financial Market Council (CMF), the General Insurance Authority (CGA) and the Microfinance Control Authority.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
In addition, Tunisia has an Economic and Financial Judicial Division specialising in combating financial corruption, money laundering and complex economic crimes.
Thanks to these reforms, Tunisia managed to exit the FATF blacklist and the EU list of high-risk countries, a process launched in 2019 and consolidated by the current stability.
The latest Basel AML Index (2025), published by the Basel Institute on Governance, ranked Tunisia among the African countries least exposed to money laundering risks.
Moreover, the Fifth Central Brigade specialised in combating information and communication technology-related crimes, under the National Guard's intelligence and investigations directorate, investigated dozens of judicial cases last year involving users of social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram.
Some suspects were placed in detention in Tunisian prisons, while investigations into money laundering crimes are ongoing.
