FinCEN Director Kenneth A. Blanco will depart FinCEN on April 9, 2021, after more than three years leading the organization. Effective April 11, 2021, Michael Mosier - former FinCEN Deputy Director and current Counselor to the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury - will serve as FinCEN Acting Director.
Mr. Mosier was previously FinCEN's Deputy Director and first Digital Innovation Officer, and before that worked at a firm focused on cryptocurrency analytics, compliance and investigations. Mr. Mosier also served as an Associate Director at the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, among other roles in government.
AnnaLou Tirol, former Associate Director of FinCEN's Strategic Operations Division, was appointed to serve as FinCEN Deputy Director.
Commentary Jodi Avergun
Ken Blanco's tenure at FinCEN was quite successful. He significantly expanded FinCEN's intelligence gathering capabilities and brought the agency from relative obscurity to all but its regulated community into national and international prominence. Mr. Blanco had a great impact in the enforcement space, perhaps not surprising given his lengthy history as a federal prosecutor and Justice Department senior official. Under his watch, FinCEN increased industry outreach and emphasized what he called the "feedback loops" between financial institutions, FinCEN, and law enforcement as critical to increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the U.S. Government's AML regime. Mr. Blanco leaves just as FinCEN begins the monumental task of drafting the implementing regulations for the 2020 Anti-Money Laundering Act, including vast new beneficial ownership disclosure requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
