Equiti Group, a Dubai-based fintech broker, appointed Patrick Pitchappa as Chief Information Security Officer and Abdullatif Manlla as Head of Compliance and Money Laundering Reporting Officer for the UAE, effective November 24, 2025. The dual leadership move reflects the group's strategic pivot toward institutional-grade governance as it scales operations across regulated markets in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. These appointments arrive as the Middle East's fintech sector faces accelerating regulatory scrutiny and heightened competitive pressure to demonstrate security resilience to institutional investors and regulators.
Group CEO Iskandar Najjar said the appointments would continue strengthening Equiti's governance foundations as it expands globally. No external search firm was cited in the announcement. Pitchappa emphasized a security-by-design philosophy, stating that trust and innovation must coexist seamlessly. Manlla stressed the importance of maintaining compliant frameworks aligned with evolving global best practices. These positions represent Equiti's third and fourth senior appointments in a restructuring wave that included promotions of Sartaj Singh to Chief Technology Officer, Rick Fulton to Chief Risk and Audit Officer, and Sean Hong to Chief Financial Officer, each tasked with overhaul mandates spanning AI integration, risk management, and financial controls.
Pitchappa brings over 28 years of international experience spanning cybersecurity, IT risk, and technology operations. His career encompasses senior roles at First Abu Dhabi Bank, BNP Paribas, Société Générale, Goldman Sachs, and VISA Inc. According to a 2022 LinkedIn profile, he graduated as an Electronics and Communications engineer in 1995 before transitioning into IT infrastructure and security, accumulating expertise in data leakage prevention, enterprise risk management, and business continuity planning. He previously served as director of information security and risk at Middle East-based Alshaya Group, a global retail franchise operator. Manlla brings extensive experience in AML/CFT compliance frameworks within UAE financial infrastructure, having held positions at ADS Securities and First Abu Dhabi Bank, where he progressed through legal and mortgage lending roles before specializing in regulatory oversight and governance.
Equiti Group operates as a multi-regulated fintech platform licensed in the UK, UAE, and Cyprus with offices spanning London, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Amman, Kampala, and Nairobi. The group delivers trading technology, payment software, virtual assets, asset management, and physical commodity solutions to retail, professional, and institutional clients. In 2025, Equiti earned UAE Superbrand status, recognition reflecting its positioning as a trusted financial services provider. The firm previously opened an Abu Dhabi headquarters in Etihad Towers in 2023, positioning itself as the first global fintech broker with a physical office in the UAE capital.
The timing of these appointments suggests Equiti is reinforcing operational infrastructure ahead of anticipated expansion into Asian and South American markets. Fintech firms operating across evolving regulatory regimes increasingly prioritize security and compliance leadership at executive levels; a pattern accelerated by rising institutional scrutiny of data protection, AML/CFT controls, and cross-border payment infrastructure. Pitchappa's background across multinational banks indicates Equiti is adopting enterprise-scale security architecture designed to support institutional-grade operations while navigating the UAE's tightening AML frameworks, which gained prominence after the country removed itself from the FATF grey list. Manlla's appointment similarly reflects strategic attention to regulatory alignment as UAE authorities expand virtual asset oversight and harmonize compliance standards with international benchmarks. Together, these hires appear designed to establish governance credibility before major geographic and product expansion, signaling management confidence in the group's operational runway.
