Libra Association names former FinCEN director as its general counsel

Stablecoins • May 19, 2020, 10:20AM EDT
The Block

The Libra Association has hired Robert Werner, a former director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), as its first general counsel.

Werner, who also had a stint as director of the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), has experience working on compliance and anti-financial crime in both the public and private sectors. Besides working in government, he has held leadership positions at HSBC and Goldman Sachs, according to today's announcement.

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Werner served as the head of FinCEN between March and December 2006. During his time there, he recruited a new CIO to leverage the department's information technology capability, according to a 2006 statement from FinCEN. 

The announcement of Werner's appointment comes just two weeks after the installation of another HSBC leader and U.S. Treasury Department alum– HSBC chief legal officer Stuart Levey – as the Libra Association's CEO. 

Both appointments follow the start of the Libra Association's journey through  Switzerland's Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) payment licensing process and the release of an updated white paper. 

About Author

Aislinn Keely is a reporter on The Block's policy team holding down the legal beat. She covers court decisions, bankruptcies, regulatory actions and other key moments in the legal sphere, putting them in context for the wider crypto industry. Before The Block, she lent her voice to the NPR affiliate WFUV and helmed Fordham University's student newspaper. Send tips or thoughts on all things policy and legal to [email protected] or follow her on Twitter for updates @AislinnKeely.