Binance Appoints Former US Treasury Enforcer to Anti-Money Laundering Role

Binance took another step in its efforts to assuage heightened regulatory scrutiny by naming a former U.S. Treasury enforcement investigator as its global money laundering reporting officer. In an interview with Bloomberg, CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao indicated that more senior hires are to follow.

• Greg Monahan joins the crypto exchange with 30 years' experience in government service, most of which he spent as a U.S. Treasury criminal investigator, Binance announced Wednesday.
• In that role, he was responsible for tax, money laundering and other financial crime, leading investigations involving cybercriminals, nation-state actors and terrorist organizations.
• The appointment comes as Binance is attempting to be more proactive in its regulatory compliance, amid fairly intense scrutiny from regulators globally in recent months.
• Monahan replaces Karen Leong, who has held the position since 2018 and becomes director of compliance.
• Last month, Zhao said Binance is seeking someone with a strong regulatory background as his replacement.
• He said in an interview with Bloomberg yesterday that hiring "very senior people" with regulatory and compliance experience who build teams in this area was Binance's No. 1 priority.
• Binance also said yesterday that it had approached former the head of the Abu Dhabi Global Market, Richard Teng, to take charge of its business in Asia.

Read more: Huobi Trust Hires Ex-Homeland Security Agent as COO

UPDATE (AUG. 18, 8:41 UTC): Adds Karen Leong to become director of compliance.

UPDATE(AUG. 18, 10:15 UTC): Adds Bloomberg interview with CEO Changpeng Zhao.