Digital money laundering poses a threat to national economies and presents major challenges for supervisory authorities and those combating cross-border financial crime, according to a study entitled “Money Laundering Through the Digital Space.”
Conducted by academic researcher 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, making them appear to come from legitimate sources. This form of laundering exploits the ease with which international transfers can be carried out anonymously.
In essence, money laundering is an economic crime aimed at legitimizing illicit funds in order to possess, manage, preserve, exchange, invest, transfer, move and manipulate their value.
These funds originate from various activities, including the cultivation of narcotic plants, jewelry trafficking, terrorism, fraud, prostitution, antiquities trafficking, corruption, embezzlement of public funds, and crimes undermining state security, both domestically and abroad.
The researcher concluded that new technologies contribute to the spread of money-laundering-related crimes. Technological innovations have given rise to new forms of financial crime via emails, social networks and digital platforms, enabling criminals to defraud victims regardless of their geographical location.
Money laundering has disastrous economic, social and political consequences. It weakens the economy by fueling inflation, leads to corruption in investment, and erodes the social fabric by encouraging crime and corruption.
It also threatens political stability by financing terrorism and weakening the rule of law, thereby damaging a country’s reputation, reducing investment and widening the gap between social classes.
The study revealed that this phenomenon occurs through several channels, notably cryptocurrencies, which are difficult to trace and convert.
Cryptomania: “ideal for money laundering”
Cryptocurrencies constitute an ideal tool for individuals engaged in money laundering through decentralized platforms, as well as social networks that exploit the popularity of influencers to create virtual shops in order to inject illegal funds into the formal economy through fictitious sales and purchases.
This can also occur through e-commerce and digital banks, by manipulating invoice values or using instant transfer platforms that allow funds to be moved without direct oversight, as well as through online gaming (using virtual currencies and in-game items to launder money).
The tools and techniques used in digital money laundering 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 efforts to combat this phenomenon face several challenges, including traceability due to the decentralized and confidential nature of many platforms, speed and scale (the ease of rapidly transferring funds across borders) and the constant evolution of methods, as criminal activity continually adapts to technological advances, requiring more sophisticated legislative and regulatory responses.
According to the study, the tools to counter this phenomenon include developing legislation and laws governing the digital economy, establishing modern and integrated financial monitoring systems, coordinating efforts through international cooperation against organized crime, and using artificial intelligence and data analysis to detect suspects.
Thus, the study concludes that any law adopted in the field of crypto-assets must be precise and proactive, aligned with innovation and technological developments, and aimed at strengthening legal systems by enforcing penalties for money laundering and related crimes, while setting standards and guidelines for anti-money-laundering legislation in cryptocurrencies.
Tunisia: equipped and on alert
In a statement to TAP, judge and researcher Jabeur Ghenimi highlighted that Tunisia has made considerable efforts to strengthen its legal and institutional framework to combat money laundering, particularly after the challenges it faced in international classifications.
The current system is based on harmonizing local legislation with international standards, such as the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Key laws governing this field in Tunisia include Organic Law No. 26 of 2015 (the framework law on combating terrorism and suppressing money laundering), Organic Law No. 9 of 2019, and Government Decree No. 419 of 2019 setting out procedures for implementing decisions of the relevant UN bodies on preventing the financing of terrorism.
This also includes circulars issued by the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT), the most recent being Circular No. 2 of 2026, which sets out the obligations of foreign exchange bureaus in terms of due diligence and combating money laundering.
Tunisia also has oversight institutions and structures, notably the Tunisian Financial Analysis Commission (CTAF) and sectoral supervisory authorities such as the BCT, the Financial Market Council (CMF), the General Insurance Authority (CGA) and the Microfinance Supervisory Authority.
In addition, it has an Economic and Financial Judicial Division specialized in combating financial corruption, money laundering and complex economic crimes.
Thanks to these reforms, Tunisia has succeeded in being removed from the FATF blacklist and the European Union’s list of high-risk countries, a process that began in 2019 and culminated in 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 specialized in combating crimes related to information and communication technologies, under the Research Sub-Directorate of the Intelligence and Investigations Directorate of the National Guard, investigated dozens of judicial cases last year involving users of social media platforms TikTok and Instagram.
Some of those involved have been placed in detention in Tunisian prisons, and investigations are ongoing into money laundering offences.
