The crypto exchange giant Binance says that it has appointed a former American Treasury official as its new anti-money laundering (AML) enforcer – as the firm apparently moves to get on the good side of regulators around the world.
The firm has fallen under scrutiny from regulators in a number of countries in recent months – from Germany and the United Kingdom to Singapore and Thailand.
But, per a press release shared with Cryptonews.com, the firm said that it had appointed Greg Monahan, a former United States Treasury Criminal Investigator as its new Global Money Laundering Reporting Officer.
The firm claimed that Monahan has “nearly 30 years of credited government service,” most of which was as a Treasury investigator – where he was “responsible for tax, money laundering and other related financial crime investigations.” Monahan, the firm added, has “led complex international investigations that have resulted in the takedown” of “prolific cybercriminals, nation-state actors, and terrorist organizations.”
Monahan was quoted as stating that his efforts will “be focused on expanding Binance’s international AML and investigation programs, as well as strengthening the organization’s relations with regulatory and law enforcement bodies worldwide.”
The firm has been spending big on the compliance front in recent months. Binance said that Karen Leong, the incumbent Global Money Laundering Reporting Officer, will become its new Director of Compliance, and noted that it has “grown its international compliance team and advisory board by 500% since 2020.”
The firm has previously hired the former Financial Action Task Force executives Rick McDonell and Josée Nadeau as compliance and regulatory advisors. The former American Senator Max Baucus is its policy and government relations advisor.
The news follows reports earlier this week that Binance was locked in talks with the former head of the Abu Dhabi Global Market, the ex-chief regulatory officer of the Singapore Exchange, and former Money Authority of Singapore (MAS) officer Richard Teng.
Per Bloomberg, individuals “familiar with the matter” said Tang had been asked to take charge of the trading platform’s Asian businesses, although it was not clear whether the ex-MAS man had agreed on the Binance move.
Binance was rocked by the shock departure of Brian Brooks, the former head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, after less than four months in his post as the CEO of Binance.US.
Quoting two unnamed “people familiar with the decision,” the media outlet The Block reported that Joshua Sroge, who was appointed as the Binance Chief Financial Officer in January last year, would be filling in as interim CEO until the platform hires a full-time replacement.
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Source: Cryptonews
