TLDR –FinCEN names former Chainalysis Chief Technical Counsel Michael Mosier as its new Acting Director and AnnaLou Tirol, former Associate Director of FinCEN’s Strategic Operations Division, as FinCEN Deputy Director.
Earlier in April 2021, outgoing FinCEN Director Kenneth Blanco announced Michael Mosier, former FinCEN Deputy Director and current Counselor to the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, will return to FinCEN as Acting Director and AnnaLou Tirol, former Associate Director of FinCEN’s Strategic Operations Division, will continue as FinCEN Deputy Director.
Mosier’s appointment is a significant step for FinCEN given his extensive private sector and public sector experience dealing with technology issues, transnational crime and money laundering and asset recovery.
From the announcement:
“Mr. Mosier most recently served as Counselor to the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, a role he assumed last month after serving as FinCEN’s Deputy Director and first Digital Innovation Officer. Mr. Mosier previously worked at the cryptocurrency analytics, compliance, and investigations firm Chainalysis, where he was Chief Technical Counsel. Prior to FinCEN and Chainalysis, Mr. Mosier was an Associate Director at Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. Mr. Mosier has also served as a Deputy Chief in the Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) Money Laundering & Asset Recovery Section. He also served a tour at the White House National Security Council as Director for Transnational Organized Crime.”
Mosier’s appointment underscores the US government’s renewed interest in compliance matters, as Congress has tasked FinCEN with assessing and overhauling several financial crime detection programs, creating a beneficial ownership registry for corporations, and instituting a whistleblower program.
Given Mosier’s recent background with Chainalysis, his appointment signals the growing importance accorded the cryptoasset economy by the US government amid concerns over the lack of adequate financial surveillance and the illicit use of cryptoassets as expressed in recent federal regulatory pronouncements and proposed rule changes.
FinCEN announcement:
ComplianceWeek article on Blanco’s departure from FinCEN:
Coindesk perspective on Mosier’s appointment:
