The State of
Financial Crime 2026
Europe edition

Europe entered the year more committed to AI than any other region. Firms here lead the world in dedicated AI investment, and the appetite for innovation-led regulation to match it is the strongest anywhere. But ambition and capability aren't the same thing, and the distance between them is where the real work now sits.

This is the EMEA cut of our sixth annual survey of senior compliance decision-makers. What's inside:

• Europe leads the world on AI investment. 59% of firms have dedicated projects and budgets for AI in financial crime compliance – the highest of any region. Find out what that head start is buying them.
• A market pushing for agile regulation. Nearly 3x as many leaders back an innovation-focused approach (59%) over a regulation-first model (22%) – and at 68%, the UK's appetite for innovation-led AI regulation is the strongest in the world. See where France diverges.
• Conviction is universal. Capability isn't. 100% of firms have seen or expect positive outcomes from agentic and predictive AI, and 88% say including AI is what unlocks budget approval. Yet deployment sits at 40%. Understand where the gap between intent and execution really opens up.
• The drag beneath the ambition. 72% of firms still take more than 5 minutes to clear a single sanctions alert at onboarding, and 42% juggle 8 to 10 separate screening systems. Learn why the operational foundation is the constraint, not the appetite.