BrazilDeloitte partner Muzammil Ebrahim joins Middle East team
Muzammil Ebrahim, a partner at Deloitte in South Africa, has relocated to the firm’s Dubai office to take the reins of its Financial Crime and Data Analytics practice.
Following a career in technology and banking, with a focus on risk management and digital transformation, Muzammil Ebrahim joined global accounting and consulting firm Deloitte in 2013 in its Johannesburg office. He climbed the ranks in its Data Analytics practice, and played a key role in developing the firm’s analytics-driven financial crime and regulatory offerings.
Most recently, Ebrahim was a partner at the Big Four firm, leading its Financial Crime, Regulatory Analytics and Forensic Transformation service line. In the role, he led engagements at clients in the government and private sector, worked across Africa, the Middle East and South East Asia.
His move to the UAE sees him return to familiar ground – he previously spent nine months in Deloitte’s Dubai office then as a director, before returning to his native South Africa to be appointed a partner. This time round, Ebrahim will play a lead role in helping the firm expand its financial crime proposition at a time of pent-up demand.
According to the latest estimates, the annual cost of money laundering and associated crimes ranges stands at above $3 trillion on an annual basis. Seeking to curb such crimes, regulators are increasing their supervisory grip on financial services organisations, which in turn are struggling to efficiently comply to the guidelines and standards stipulated.
As a result, the cost of financial crime compliance is surging worldwide, estimated by LexisNexis Risk Solutions to currently be around $180 billion. This is where consultants like Deloitte come in – the firm’s Financial Crime and Data Analytics practice helps clients with effectively combatting financial crime and illicit financial flows.
“I’m delighted to welcome Muzammil who brings with him a wealth of experience in helping clients combat money laundering and other illicit financial flows. This is a very complex area and requires deep subject matter expertise and, increasingly, a focus on technology,” said Neil Hargreaves, Head of Deloitte’s Forensic practice in the Middle East.
Alongside its traditional financial and risk skillset, Deloitte brings this technology capability to the table, said Ebrahim. “To effectively combat financial crime, there is an increasing need to focus on analytics and tech-powered solutions, to pivot the strategy from one that is reactive, and compliance based, to more proactive and risk management based.”
